Heard as the Outcasts Hear
by OrangeGalen
Summary: They are so alike. Both had been called monsters. Both had shut themselves away from society. Both had the terrible burden of knowledge upon them. But now a chance meeting between the Snow Queen and the Opera Ghost will have vast changes on their futures that neither will expect. The Outcasts will never be the same again... [Future SnowGhost/IcePhantom]
1. Change of Scenery

**This is something that I had an idea of and just now finally got off my rear to write. And yes, this is a Phantom of the Opera and Frozen crossover. One day it just sort of clicked and I saw so many connections between the two that I just had to get writing. Originally this was planned just to be a one-shot, but once again, my overacting brain went into overdrive on this. So I hope you will all enjoy this story. **

**Just a quick note, updates will be far in-between so please bear with me. Thank you!**

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**Disclaimer: I do not own Phantom of the Opera and Frozen. This disclaimer will now apply to all future chapters.**

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**Edit: 1/17/15**

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~"No one would listen.

No one but her

Heard as the outcasts hear."~

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_Paris: 1875_

He wandered aimlessly through the darkened tunnels in a drunken stupor. His normally quiet footfalls that only ghosts could hear now echoed loudly through the sewers as he stumbled around, clattering against loose rocks and broken bottle pieces. This normally silent figure, which many would only hear the slightest whisper on the wind before he struck, was mumbling incoherent nothings in his wanderings. His rich tenor had dissolved into a growling mess of a voice, saying anything that came to the remnant of his genius mind. He came around another bend and almost tripped on a rocky outcropping that he would have known was there if not for the bottle of whiskey he had a few hours ago.

He had nowhere to go; his usual prowling fields that were once his domain, playground, and kingdom were now unrecognizable to him, rebuilt and redone. _His_ opera house was now completely unknown to him, owned by newcomers into the field that he hadn't yet made demands from for his opera house. He hadn't even threatened them yet. He couldn't, or probably more likely in some part of his mind, didn't want to go back up there. He was becoming a tale that stagehands told to dancing girls to get a scare; no more feared as a once real threat, no dread of retaliation from the real thing. To their knowledge, he died four years ago in the fire that had consumed so much.

He couldn't go above ground and into the streets of Paris to go through the motions of interacting with society, not even in disguise now, as he was a hunted criminal and a labeled madman by the populace. As much as the belief that he was dead stood rampant with there being hardly any real evidence against him, he didn't want to run the risk of being spotted. Plus he never liked crowds at all, even before he became a wanted criminal. They reminded him too much of his time as the Devil's Child, the crowds jeering at him and the brutish cage master beating him until his back was a crisscross of scars. Years and years and years of scars inflicted on him, and none of them had disappeared, just faded. They probably never would.

He couldn't go back to his lair and home as he had spent the last four years there doing practically nothing. Every motivation that he had, every ambition was gone. Everything that had held an interest to him has been neglected. The place held too many memories of a… a previous life; one that was filled with unimaginable music and passion. Back when he had purpose, vision, and fire to work.

But that was all gone now. It left when _She_ left. He couldn't even think of her name. It was easier for him to refer to her like that. No less painful, but easier.

Continuing his journey to nowhere, the man staggered around a corner, his once clean cape now covered in grunge and dirt. The suit he was wearing hung loosely on his body when it used to be fitting, and now was tattered and about as clean as his hair was, which is to say, not at all. Grime covered his black hair, which used to be slicked back and combed, and was now a wild, tangled, mess.

His skin was a yellow pallor like parchment and had shrunk so his bones were almost visible through is now loose fitting clothes. The once white and form fitting, now dirt colored and loose, porcelain mask barely covered the right side of his face, hanging on from a few places. However it was his eyes that showed the most change from his previous state four years ago.

Eyes that were once alight with every emotion possible; anger, fear, love, passion, lust, disgust, determination, were now dead. _Dead_. The green eyes held no life in them, no sparkle, no flame, nothing. Just glazed over and sunken into his head. They were dead.

In fact one could say that this man was a walking corpse. He just hadn't reached the coffin yet because he had already been to the graveyard and back.

The loosely termed man gave a growl and tried to repress some memories. Memories that burned in his mind more than they had ever done before.

But it was hopeless. They will burn him until he died. Like the fire he caused four years ago.

_"No Raoul! No, not like this."_

_Not again. Don't think about that,_ the man thought as he stumbled around. One of his first coherent thoughts of the day. _Can't think about _Her_ voice. Can't think about Her. Don't think. Don't remember. It's for the best. _

No use. It was already done.

_~"Angel or father, friend or phantom, who is it there, staring?"~_

_~"Have you forgotten your Angel?"~_

"NO!" The figure cried out and smashed the wall in rage; not feeling the pain in his hand, for the pain in his heart surpassed it. _I can never be an angel again, if I could ever claim to have been one. I am not even a phantom because phantoms have more life than me. _

He turned another corner and was confronted with a once magnificent room. It had been carved into the wall of an underground cavern and once housed some of the greatest art unknown to man. Music, paintings, sculptures, and other forms of skill were created here. The furniture was of the highest quality, with articulate designs and covered with gold leaf. Almost all made by one man, the rest altered to fit his needs.

They were all gone now. The gold had crumbled after years of abuse and neglect. Dust covered practically everything, sometimes deep enough that your boot could sink into it a few millimeters. Paper had been balled up, torn, and thrown off to the side of the room; paper that held magnificent music had been tossed away like the daily newspaper on the streets after someone was done with it.

The man groaned and stumbled his way over to a chair, kicking over several of the remaining upright stands and almost falling multiple times. He fell into it in an undignified manner and groaned again, clutching his head, fighting away the pounding and drumming that was going on in his head. He was too far away from the bottle on the table for him to reach and he didn't feel like he could get up. _In fact, the ground looks really comfortable…_

That was his last thought before his body followed his thoughts.

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He woke up sometime later to the sound of footsteps. His head didn't feel as bad as before, but his body was now sore from falling out of the chair. He tried to lift himself up, but his arms didn't support him and he fell back down to the ground. He gave a muffled curse and the footsteps stopped a close distance away from him.

Suddenly he felt a pair of hands wrap around him and helped him lift himself up back into the chair. "I never thought you would be able to sink this low."

_I know that voice,_ he thought groggily. "Why are you here Antoinette?" He said, his voice raspy, grinding against his vocal cords.

"I'm checking in on a friend." She said cordially as he found the chair again.

"I don't have any friends." He said as he rubbed his face. Suddenly, he realized that he didn't have his mask on and tried to find it, crawling along the ground in a burst of panic until his gloved fingers found the familiar form. He desperately put it on but then found that he couldn't get up, the momentary energy gone.

Once again he felt a pair of hands close around him, but he shook them off growling, "Don't touch me."

"Come now, you've always been too proud to accept help. Do you want to wallow in the dust?"

"Let me. I don't care anymore." He said, his voice dead, "I have nothing left to desire for."

"Don't start that again Erik."

The man suddenly hissed and tried to get up, but failed. Growling both at the woman and his own weakness, he said, "Don't say my name if you know what's good for you."

Antoinette had a self-satisfactory smirk on her face and said, "Even when you were at your greatest, you could never intimidate me _Erik_." She said, emphasizing his name once more, earning another growl from the man. "Now, you can't even pick yourself off the ground."

The man narrowed his eyes and said, "Watch me." He rolled over and braced his arms up against the ground. Breathing heavily, he pushed himself off of the ground, and then put his feet underneath himself. Then he straightened his legs and stood up shakily, looking like a strong gust of wind could blow him back on the ground. For a moment, he felt proud of himself, then remembered his own weakness and scowled.

"Bravo." Antoinette said dryly a few feet away from him.

"Don't patronize me woman," he said as he took a couple of shaky steps forward.

"Please, spare me the threats. You owe me that much."

"I think you paid those debts already." He said. _I know that you helped that rich fop with escaping my traps, and explaining my story to him, _and_ showing him how to get to my… home._

"I'm not here to discuss such things." She said.

"Then why are you here, because it seems to me that you have decided to come down here just to berate me for my choices. If that is all, then leave. Now."

"No, that is not my intention," Antoinette Giry said with a hint of disappointment, "I thought you would be more trusting of me."

"My trust is gone, destroyed. Everyone I've known has betrayed me at some point. And before you try and say otherwise," he said, stalling Giry's potential protest, "I know you led that _boy_ down here to stop me."

Giry's eyes narrowed. "You know perfectly well why I did so. We have gone over that before."

The man's strength swept away from him at that and he deflated, as much as his hallow, bony body would permit him to. "Yes." He whispered. "Yes we have." My everlasting source of shame and regret.

Giry was quiet for a moment and then said, "We have both done things that we regret, and for me, one of them is betraying your trust, even if it was for a good cause. But you must know that I never wanted any harm to come to you. I have cared for you and seen you grow up and think of you as fondly as I do Meg. I want what's best for you. Even if it's not what you want."

The man was silent. "Is that what you believe?" He asked quietly.

"Yes." She said without hesitation.

"Then you are wasting your time," the man said stronger. "How can you help a man who does not want to help himself?"

"By reminding him of who he used to be." The man looked sharply at her who returned the glare with a cool gaze.

"Look at yourself," she continued, "you're just skin and bones now, a shadow of the man who used to send fear into people at the mere mention of you. A man who could glide silently through the maze of the opera, the omnipotent phantom that knew everything that was happening in his domain. Now look at you." The man stayed silent. "You know I'm right."

"So? Perhaps this is what I'm supposed to do? I've always called myself a ghost, perhaps it is time I became one."

"Don't play the self-pitying game with me Erik," she said, earning another hiss from him, "it won't work. You were once a strong man, capable of traversing the most inaccessible places. Now you can't even get into your own seat."

"If you're trying to wound my pride, there is nothing left of it to wound," he said, and then tried to reach for a liquor bottle on the table.

"Nuh-uh!" Antoinette said sharply and smacked his hand with her cane, earning another hiss as he clutched his hand. "No more drinking for you!" The man growled and tried to lunge forward, but fell short when a sudden wave of nausea came over him. He tried to hold it in, but failed. He turned his head and vomited over the floor, which Madame Giry stepped back from to avoid the splash. "I think that proves my point. When was the last meal you had? True meal, not liquor," she asked.

He tried to remember. _My endless nights blend together with my lightless days. I wander without purpose, without hope. Why would I worry about something as menial as food?_

When he remained silent Giry sighed, "Too long apparently." She moved around the man to a sack that she had brought down with her. Reaching inside, she pulled out several bags and opened them up on the table, laying out several pieces of food, ranging from cheese to bread to a slightly warm piece of steak.

The man's stomach gave a large growl at the sight, and Antoinette gave a small smirk. "This is for you, but only if you promise that you will not succumb to self pity and take better care of yourself."

He was torn. On one hand, he really wanted to eat something as his famished stomach was reminding him that he only had alcohol for the past few days. But on the other, his pride was once again refusing to bend to someone else's.

His stomach won out. "Fine," he said, then reached for a piece of bread and bit into it, tearing off a chunk and eating it ravenously, his now awake stomach demanding attention.

"I guess that is as good as I'm going to get," Giry muttered to herself as she watched the man eat. She took a seat opposite of him from the table and sat in silence as the man ate.

A few minutes later, he finished a glass of water, the loaf of bread, and some of the cheese she brought and stopped, his stomach still adjusting to having food in it for such a while without. He looked at Antoinette in the eye and said, "Is there something else you want?" His voice almost back to his normal.

"Just one other thing. I would like you to get out of here."

He paused. "What do you mean?" He asked, a warning clear in his tone.

"No not like that," she said, stalling his outrage, "I mean get out and go someplace else. You need a change of scenery. You can't be stuck down here in the dark and cold forever, _as much as you'd like to_," she muttered. With that she gathered up the bag but left the food. Just as she was about to go, she turned and said, "The new opera season is starting up soon, in a few weeks. Normally I wouldn't recommend someone in your state to oversee them, but seeing that you're you, I'm betting you'll be your old self in that time."

The man just scoffed and sipped a glass of water. "That was a long time ago."

"Not as long as you think." That was all she said before she left his lair, her footsteps echoing until they disappeared in the darkness.

The man sat there in silence for an indefinable minute, then growled and drank some more water. _Who does she think she is? Coming down here for anybody else is a death warrant. She's too much of a nuisance…_ His thoughts trailed off as he lost his steam.

_Who am I trying to fool? How the great and mighty Phantom has been reduced to… this. Barely able to get out of his own chair, let alone threaten anybody. I'm nobody. Less than that. Born into emptiness and live in it as well. I don't deserve to be given a chance to live again. Have I really lived at all? Who would notice if I disappeared? Antoinette would for a while, but she would move on. _Her? _She made her choice. There's nobody._

He instinctually reached for the liquor bottle but stopped when his glove brushed the bottle. _Have I really fallen that far? Willing to drown myself in alcohol instead of music?_ _But how can I think about music when_ she _is the one that destroyed it for me? How can I think at all?_ He groaned and clutched his head. _How far have I fallen?_

He sat there in near darkness as the candles started to go out. _Being here isn't helping me at all. Perhaps Antoinette is right, I do need a change of scenery…_

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Meanwhile in a distant land something was about to unfold in a similar fashion.

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Arendelle: 1875

The room layout was relatively simple. At one end there was a door that was painted white with blue trimmings. At the other end was a triangular window that had crisscrossing supports. The walls were lined with shelves and bookcases that were filled to the brim with books, papers, and various other random things. Just in front of the window there was a desk. It was a large wooden desk that was about 9 feet wide and high enough for someone to write on it comfortably.

Unfortunately another foot was added from paperwork that had piled up on the desk. And the room's sole occupant was desperately working through said piles.

Elsa, the queen of Arendelle, groaned as she leaned back in her desk, massaging her temples from the headache coming from the paperwork. _It's become a constant thing in my life now, _she thought, _wake up prepare for the headache, have headache for the day, then sleep with a headache and repeat._

She blinked her eyes to focus them, then again when they hadn't yet. She groaned again, realizing that it wasn't even two-o-clock yet, and she wasn't even through half of the first pile yet. She grabbed her pen from where she dropped it and put another piece of paper in front of her and attempted to read it, trying to make sense of the scribbles on it. She stared at it for another five minutes before she realized that she had read the same sentence over and over again.

Refocusing once more, she tried again and made better, if still slow, progress. Finishing it and finding it satisfactory, she signed it at the bottom. _I _think _I understood what they wanted for this trade agreement. Or was it a property arrangement? Oh well,_ she thought giving up on it, _next one…_

She put another piece of paper in front of her before she doubled over in pain from the headache. Hissing in pain, Elsa rubbed her head and used a bit of her powers to try and cool down her head. It worked partially; the headache was still there, but the pain had lessened. _I guess that is good enough. _She tried again but didn't have the energy to continue. She looked up and saw that the clock had only moved seven minutes. _Or was it the hour hand that had moved?_

_I guess that a small nap won't hurt… _Her eyelids drooped and she felt herself dropping off into sleep…

"HEY ELSA!" Elsa's eyes shot wide open and a gust of cold wind and a spike of ice went up the window in surprise. "Oh sorry, didn't know you were sleeping."

Elsa's heart rate lessened and she saw her sister Anna standing in the doorway, grinning sheepishly at awaking her sister. "Anna, you know I'm supposed to be working now."

"Yes, but you were sleeping. That's not working." Anna pointed out. She frowned suddenly. "You usually make me work for that."

"Work for what?" Elsa asked, rubbing her face to try and make herself awake again.

"For me to be right. How much sleep have you gotten?" Anna asked.

"Umm… eight? Hours?" Elsa said hesitantly. Anna just raised her eyebrow at her. _She's getting good at that. She must have learned from me,_ Elsa thought. "In three days?" She added softly.

"THREE DAYS?!" Anna shouted, making Elsa wince in pain from the headache she had. "My gosh Elsa, how are you still working like this? How are you still awake, aside from the fact you weren't a minute go, but still?"

"I have to," Elsa responded and gestured to the piles on her desk, "These won't do themselves."

"You can have the ministers and other people do them. You don't need to do them all yourself."

"But-"

"No. Use your queenly powers and tell other people to do this," Anna said firmly. "You need your rest."

Elsa sighed and drooped her head. "I guess your right."

"Wow, you admitted it for the second time in two minutes. You must be really tired." Elsa glared at her and Anna just shrugged. "What? It's the truth."

Elsa just sighed and said, "Did you just come in here to pester me about my sleeping habits?"

"What? Oh! That! No, I was thinking about your work and how we never see each other as much as we did a year ago and I know Kristoff wouldn't mind a bit but I really wanted to ask you first before I asked him-"

"Anna. Please, get to the point." Elsa said, cutting her sister off of her rambling.

"Oh. Well, I was thinking that you needed a change of scenery from all this paperwork and I heard that this really famous Opera house in Paris is getting ready for its next season and we could go there for a break!"

"Wait, Paris? Opera house? What brought this on?" Elsa asked, awake enough now and genuinely interested why her sister wanted to go.

"Well, I thought it would be a perfect opportunity for us to get to know each other and spend some time together."

"Anna, we've had three years now."

"Yea, but there was another thirteen before that!"

Immediately Anna wished that she hadn't said that. Elsa seemed to shrink and lose all energy from that sentence. Unconsciously, she started to wring her hands together in a nervous habit.

"Oh Elsa, I'm sorry." She went over and grasped her sister in a big hug. "I know what happened wasn't your fault. Don't go blaming yourself for that. We've been over this."

"I know. But it still hurts to know that I caused us so much pain."

"But we have each other now. Plus Olaf and Kristoff too. You have been queen for three years and I've known a guy for longer than a day now! Things are good." But then she pointed to the pile. "Almost."

"I just can't get up and leave without notice Anna," Elsa tried.

"That's why we don't need to go for another two months. Their opening show starts then. That's plenty of time to get things in order."

Elsa sighed, but then looked up, a smirk playing on her face. "Me-thinks you just want an excuse to go to Paris."

"What? Me? Nah. I mean who'd want to go to _Paris_ of all places, with all the scenery, the people, the food and chocolate huh? Nothing really interesting there at all." Anna tried to play innocent, but knew she wasn't fooling anyone.

Elsa almost wanted to laugh. "Sounds like you've planned this trip out quite a bit, including the opera. "

"Oh no, that was just something I just heard about today." _Ah, there it is._ "Anyway, what do you say to that?" Anna leaned forward and eagerly awaited Elsa's reply. _~"Do you wanna go to Paris?"~_

Elsa sighed. _Dang it Anna, I can't resist it when you sing that tune._ Her first knee-jerk response would be to say no, but the pleading look in Anna's eyes made Elsa rethink her answer. " …Fine."

"Really?" Anna said and when Elsa nodded she squealed in delight. "This is gonna' be great! You'll see!" Anna went waltzing out of Elsa's office humming a tune and closed the door behind her, leaving behind a mildly confused Elsa.

She blinked. "What did I just agree to?" She muttered and looked down at her desk again, debating with herself to try and get more work done.

_I give up_, she thought and pushed herself away from her desk and turned around. She paused and saw the string of ice that went up the wall. She sighed again and then thought of her sister and concentrated on the ice. Using her powers, she quickly thawed the ice and made it disappear into blue sparkles that faded out of existence.

_It feels so natural now. Just being able to use my powers so casually without fear of being discovered. It feels good._ She walked out the office and started down the hallways that had now become familiar in the three years since her coronation. _It also feels good to be around people, that the gates are open, and Arendelle is now open to all… excluding Weselton and the Southern Isles. Still haven't gotten any better relations with them, not that many want to anyway. _

Elsa found herself wandering back to her room, three days of minimal sleep finally catching up to her. After a minute, she opened her room's doors and made her way to her bed, which looked really inviting at that time.

She plopped down on her bed without changing. She was still thinking about that figurative mountain of paperwork on her desk, and just imagining it made her headache worse. Eventually her body succumbed to sleep, but not without Elsa thinking one last thing.

_Perhaps Anna is right, I do need a change of scenery… _

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**Well what do you think? I have the chapters planned out, I just need to write them. **

**So if you would, Read, Review, Favorite, Follow. (R.R.F.F.)**

**-OrangeGalen**


	2. Travel Planning (Sorta)

**Hello again readers! Time for the first update of Heard as the Outcast Hear! Yay! I was hoping to get this chapter done on Monday, but I got a little sidetracked and, well, here we are. Anyway, moving on to the story!**

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**Note: This chapter was edited on 10/3/14.  
Changes: The gala date has gotten bumped back and is now planned at the beginning of November instead of the middle of the month.**

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**Edit: 1/18/16**

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Arendelle: August 1875

Elsa awoke late in the morning, which was unusual for her as it was Anna who normally did such a thing. The sun was already halfway up the sky, shining down on Arendelle and lighting up Elsa's room. When she usually woke up, it was still slightly dark with the sun barely lighting up the sky. All for work. Meetings, paperwork, and dealings with ambassadors were all part of her job, her station, and the sooner she started, the sooner she could be ready for the next batch. _Just keep them coming until there is a pause, then take advantage of that pause to the fullest_, is basically what it boiled down to

And when she got one, that's when she and Anna spend time together: those few oddball days where there is nothing going on. No meetings, no dreaded paperwork, no problems to address. The kingdom seemed to run itself for that day and all Elsa had to do was sit back and watch. It was peaceful, or at least when Anna decided it would be. Other times Anna would somehow convince her to throw a winter party in Arendelle using her powers during especially warm days. Never to the extent of another "eternal winter", but inside the city limits, controlled and non-threatening and fun for all who want it.

Elsa had learned to control her powers in the three years since she had become queen. Now that people knew what she could do, she had no reason to hide it anymore. Almost every day in the palace courtyard for an hour Elsa would practice her magic. It usually involved making ice sculptures of Anna, Kristoff, and sometimes Olaf or Sven, or other times whoever just happened to be watching her that day. Other times it would be a bit more complicated when Elsa tried to test herself. Sometimes it would be creating other snow creatures like Marshmallow or Olaf or those little Snowgies she made during Anna's 19th birthday unintentionally when she was sick. She even human snow people from time to time. For other practice, she would create a controlled blizzard inside the palace courtyard. There was only one time she lost control of the blizzard and that was when she got distracted by a snowball attack from Anna, Kristoff, and Olaf. The ambush ended abruptly after the blizzard wound up on top of the three, burying them.

It still puzzled Elsa to this day how her people would be so accepting of her powers. After so long of trying to suppress and _conceal _them, all of that nonsense got thrown out the window in about a day. And they had all been happier about it. Anna and Elsa had reunited, Elsa stopped fearing herself and gained control of her powers, Arendelle's reputation had grown, mostly positively, and Anna has been going strong with Kristoff since their return. All of their problems had been fixed or resolved in such a short time, all because of one simple answer: love.

Elsa still harbored some resentment towards her parents for not understanding the old troll's message about her powers, but she couldn't blame them. That night had been clouded in fear and terror, making everyone unable to think rationally. Elsa knew her parents had her best intentions in heart, even if the way they tried to work through it was convoluted. And she forgave them for that, and she still loved them. Though it took her two years to do so and one major break down but she learned to accept, forgive, and move on.

Elsa's eyes opened and then closed momentarily blinded by the sunlight streaming in through the window. She groaned and stretched; giving a small yawn that would have made anybody 'aww' if there was actually anybody around. Sitting up, she blinked groggily for a few seconds, and then rubbed her eyes, looking for the clock. She stopped halfway through another stretch as she saw the time. _9:34. 9:34! Oh no. I'm late for the merchants meeting and I haven't gotten any of the paperwork done on the Open Lot project. What am I going to do? I better hurry!_

Elsa wasn't the acrobat her sister is. However, they _are_ sisters and they do share some similar traits. For instance, the quick way they can both get dressed in about five minutes when it usually takes at least fifteen for a decent job if they are rushed. Elsa jumped out of the bed and rushed over to her closet, pulling the changing wall out. She tossed off her nightgown and was about to reach in the closet for something, but then reconsidered, knowing something faster.

She used her ice magic to start making a dress. It was much faster than putting something else on. She made a dark blue dress with a modest slit in the side, and an icy blue top that had slightly transparent sleeves and a low-buttoned collar. Finishing off the outfit, she made a pair of ice shoes with heels.

Elsa then moved to the wash bin and started working on her hair with a comb and water. Once she got the slightly horrific tangles out, she braided her hair and then wrapped it around her head and put on her crown.

Two years ago she traveled up the North Mountain again to visit her ice palace. To her surprise the snow golem she made, Marshmallow, was still there, albeit limping around from a leg wound. Even more surprising was that it-he- had on her crown that she threw away. After a little reunion party, Elsa made Marshmallow an ice crown and traded him for her old one. It was an old family heirloom after all. Marshmallow liked the new crown even better than the old one so they were both happy.

Finished, Elsa straightened her back and got into her 'queenly posture' before she exited her room. Walking down the hallways towards her office she passed a few servants who bowed and said 'your highness', to which Elsa smiled and nodded to them. She was a little confused when they smirked a little bit after she passed though.

She wasn't anymore when she reached her office. Or rather the doors leading to it. Elsa also had to smirk at what Anna did.

Currently the doors leading to her office, or more specifically the door handles, had a rope sloppily tied around them, tying them shut. There was also a sign that was hung up on the door that said: _"Elsa is forbidden from entering for this day. This applies to everybody else too". _

Elsa shook her head with amusement at Anna's antics, but she told herself that she needed to do the work no matter what. It was her job and the kingdom couldn't run itself for long. Plus that paperwork wouldn't do itself either.

She thought about trying to untie the rope, but then thought of a simpler approach, or a shortcut. She used her powers to freeze the rope so cold that it shattered the moment she touched it. Ignoring the sign, she opened the door.

Suddenly she stumbled backwards in surprise as feathers exploded in her face. She careened backwards as the last of the feathers floated to the floor. She blinked in shock from the unexpected before she realized what happened. There was a pillow attached to a rope that was somehow set up to smack whoever tried to enter the room. Elsa held the look of surprise for a moment longer, then gently laughed as she saw what was written on the pillow: _"I told you, don't come in!"._

"Apparently Anna is more resourceful than I thought." Elsa said out loud, amused at her younger sister's antics. She ducked her head to avoid the now empty pillow and entered the room.

And once again she stopped in shock.

Her desk was cleared out. There was absolutely nothing on it. It was cleaned and polished, but there was nothing. No papers, no pens, no books; nothing. It was… refreshing, seeing the top of her desk for once. And a little odd, since she was used to _not_ seeing the top of her desk. But then the obvious question arose in her mind with growing concern.

_Where is everything?_

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Anna must have heard her coming because once Elsa entered the dining hall. Anna was trying, and failing, to hide a smirk on her face by focusing on her food. Elsa knew she was faking it because she was actually using the proper utensils for her breakfast, instead of eating it with her hands.

Next to her was Kristoff, looking slightly out of place in such a grandiose environment, probably because he still looked uncomfortable, but looked right at home next to the redhead. In the three years since he came into their lives, Kristoff had proven himself to be reliable and a steady voice to Anna's unpredictability. If there was some sort of problem, his calm down-to-eath personality was usually able to resolve disputes… except for the Chocolate Incident. That could not be resolved by anyone. It's better if you don't ask. Suffice it to say it was the first time Anna got plastered to the celling with ice. Upside-down.

Anyway, Elsa walked into the dining hall, hands behind her back ignoring the looks she was getting, and carried herself over to her spot on the table and sat down. Her face was in a practiced expressionless position, betraying nothing of what she felt. It must have been unsettling because Kristoff's concerned expression grew into a worried and fearful one. Even Anna's face started to lose the smile on it.

Elsa kept up the façade for a minute, smirking inwardly the entire time, and the entire hall was filled with silence and the occasional clink of Elsa's fork hitting the plate. "Soooooo…." she said, startling Anna and Kristoff. "I went into my office this morning…" She started, leaving the rest for Anna to imagine.

Anna picked up quick. She snorted and started to laugh, ignoring the semi-serious-but-laughing-on-the-inside glare Elsa was giving her. But after a moment, Elsa started laughing as well. Kristoff smiled genuinely, but pressed his back against the chair just in case to avoid anything thrown at each other. He learned from expierience.

"In all seriousness Anna," Elsa said, getting control over her laughing, incidentally making it snow a bit, "you know I need to do that paperwork. I'm the queen and it's my job," she said calmly, trying to get through to Anna.

"Elsa, there's a little thing called 'delegation'. You should try it… well, obviously not now because I've already taken care of that," Anna countered with a smile.

"Wait, what? What did you do?" Elsa asked, wondering what her sister did.

"I organized the papers on your desk by subject then gave them to the correct departments and ministers so they can lighten your load." Anna said proudly. "Of course, you'll get some of those back after they're done so you can finish them up, but just not today. Today is for us!" She finished excitedly.

Elsa sighed. "Anna, some of those papers I needed to get _done _today."

"Don't worry about it. Kai is handling those ones right now. Relax! Believe it or not, I can do paperwork… I just like it less than you."

Elsa rubbed her forehead in weariness and a bit of stress. Although she had gotten a better night's sleep, or more accurately over half a day's worth of it, she still had a bit to recover from. Plus she could feel her headache from before coming back again.

Kristoff saw that this might be a good time to intervene. "Your Maje- uhh, Elsa," he stumbled a bit due to habit of addressing the ruling monarch of Arendelle combined with the fact that he was involved with her sister, plus the numerous times Elsa told him to address her by her name. Elsa looked up at the ice harvester, "It's no use to fret about it now; Anna has it taken care of and I think if you try to interfere, well, it would cause more problems than anything, especially for you. Besides, why do you want to do work?" He finished, giving a lopsided smile.

Elsa had to smile back at him for his simple logic. _He's right; why do I want to work? And if Anna says that she's handled it, then I guess I should trust her on this. _She nodded in acceptance and looked at the two of them. "You're right Kristoff. I don't want to work." She focused on Anna next. "I've been pushing myself too hard lately. Thank you for getting me out of this Anna."

"Oh no, it wasn't that difficult. Pretty much everybody I talked to agreed to help you pretty much immediately. Believe it or not, you're a good queen Elsa and they see that."

Elsa's smile grew larger. "Thank you. So, what do you want to do today?"

Anna also smiled. "Well I was thinking we could start planning for our trip!"

"Wait," Kristoff put down his cup, "What trip?"

Elsa raised her eyebrow at Anna to say, '_you didn't tell him?'_

"Oh, err, I was thinking that we could all take a trip somewhere." Anna said.

Kristoff nodded, waiting for the kicker. "Uh-huh. And where would this trip be?"

"Oh, I don't know. I was thinking… Paris?" Anna almost pleaded at the end.

"And why Paris?"

"Because I thought it would be a good idea for us to go somewhere different for a change!"

"And by we, you were thinking of Elsa." Kristoff said, knowing how much Anna cared for her sister.

"Well yea, I mean, uhh, you know how hard she was working and, uhh, I didn't mean just for her, I also meant for us and well, uhh…" She paused and looked at Elsa, "A little help?" She muttered.

Elsa smirked. "Oh no, you're doing fine on your own," she said, semi-sarcastically.

Anna just stuck her tongue out at her in retaliation, earning a snicker from Elsa.

"And when were you going to ask me if I wanted to go?" Kristoff continued.

"Right now?" Anna said sheepishly.

Kristoff sighed in a way that was not unfamiliar to the way Elsa sighed a few moments ago. Anna had a way of making you do that quite often. "Just when is this trip?" He asked tiredly, just rolling with it.

"It's in a few months when the new gala starts."

"Wait wait wait wait. Gala? Isn't that like, a musical? For an opera? You want to go to Paris to see a opera?" Kristoff said a little incredulous.

"Yes? Besides, we all like music, right? So what's the deal? We don't have an opera house anywhere near Arendelle, and this one in Paris is trying to gather as many people as it can."

Elsa broke in, "Where did you get all of this information from?"

"The last ship from France, you know, the one with all of the dignitaries two days ago?" Elsa nodded, remembering dealing with the ambassadors then. Not one of her finer moments. "Well, I was talking to some of the crew and they mentioned it and gave me a paper on it." Anna actually dug in her pocket and came out with a piece of paper. Unfolding it, she handed it over and both Elsa and Kristoff held it so they could look at it.

The paper advertised the re-opening of the opera house, called the Opera Populaire, after four years of inactivity and a management change. Elsa frowned a bit as she read on. _Four years? That's a long time for a performance-based industry to be out of it. Somebody must have made a large investment deal for it. And what's this accident they mentioned, and why do I get the feeling there's more to it?_

"So let me get this straight," Elsa said after she was done, "you want to travel all the way to Paris and stay for one gala, then come back?"

"Well that's what today is for! We can plan when, where, how, and why, well maybe not why, but all the others! We don't have to stay for just one performance, we can be there for a month or two!"

"A month!" Both Kristoff and Elsa exclaimed. The glanced at each other in mild surprise at jinxing each other.

"How are we supposed to leave for a month?" Kristoff asked. "I don't think I could leave Sven or my business for that long, and if it took you that much effort to distribute Elsa's paperwork for a day, think about how much she'll have when she gets back."

Elsa shuddered at the thought. _I woudn't have an office anymore; it will just be papers. _

Anna frowned at him. "No she won't. The ministers can do it. I don't mean to be mean, but they did it for three years after… after Mom and Dad died." She finished quietly, effectively dampening the mood. Anna didn't let it stay that way though. "Besides, it's not like we'll be gone for a year, at most two months, then we'll be back. And plus we still have a few months before we actually leave, so that's plenty of time!"

Kristoff gave her a strange look. "How long have you been planning this?" He asked.

"Ever since I found out about it." Anna said innocently.

Elsa and Kristoff exchanged a look. "I have a feeling we're being played." Elsa said.

Kristoff nodded sagely. "Yes, she seems to have planned this too well for it to be Anna." Anna gave a loud _'hey!'_ at that, but it was ignored.

"She does seem to be having some diabolical plots, more so than normal lately," Elsa said, continuing the unspoken game.

"Has she become some sort of puppeteer mastermind without us knowing?" Kristoff added.

"She has to. How else would she have managed to set up that trap in my office in such a short time?" Elsa paused and then frowned in curiosity. "By the way, how did you manage that anyway?" She asked genuinely.

Anna huffed and crossed her arms. "I'm not telling." She said defiantly.

Elsa's face grew into a grin. A predatory grin. "Well, I have ways of making you talk." She said ominously. Kristoff scooted backward in his chair, fearing what was going to happen.

"I'd like to see you try." Anna challenged.

"Very well." Elsa said, then suddenly pulled out a pillow from behind her and screamed "Revenge Pillow Attack!" She charged forward and Kristoff fell over backwards in his chair in an attempt to get away from the upcoming war.

Anna attempted to escape, but failed as she got a face full of pillow as Elsa swung. A few feathers _poof_ed out of it from the impact and Anna let out a squeal and ran away, trying to avoid her now crazy pillow-wielding sister who was chasing her around.

The two ran out of the dining hall deeper into the castle, leaving behind a few overturned plates and several feathers. Also a collapsed Kristoff on the floor.

After the two sisters ran out, he groaned and decided that he just wanted to lie there on the ground. "How did I get here?" He asked rhetorically; not about how he got on the floor, but how he got involved with the queen and princess and become part of their daily lives. Also their craziness.

"Umm, I think you fell over." A young sounding voice came from somewhere (above?) Kristoff. He looked up, from his angle anyway, and saw Olaf, the walking talking _alive_ snowman wander into the dining hall.

"Hey Olaf," he said as a greeting, "and I know I fell over, I was just- oh never mind." He said, not wanting to confuse the easily confused snowman. He rolled over and picked himself and the chair off of the ground and put them back upright.

"Okay!" Olaf said, already never minding. "So where did Elsa and Anna go?" He asked.

There was a loud screech from one of the two sisters and a solid _fwump_ sound from somewhere inside the castle, then the sound of feet running and people giggling. "I think they are using up all the pillows in the castle," he deadpanned.

Olaf looked towards the sound and then asked, "You think they need help?"

There was another _fwump, _then a _thud._ "No, I think they've got it." He sighed. "It's going to be another long day."

* * *

Two hours later and countless ruined pillows later they finally started to make actual plans for their trip. Or tried to. They kept running into obstacles.

"Absolutely not!" Anna stated.

"For once I agree with you, absolutely not," Elsa agreed.

"What do you mean 'for once?' You did yesterday _and_ today!"

"I was under a lot of stress."

"So?" Anna questioned.

Elsa opened her mouth, and then closed it like a fish. She ignored Anna and turned to Kristoff instead. "I still say no."

"So do I." Anna added, forgetting the brief argument.

Kristoff sighed, his earlier prediction coming true. He was forced to play Devil's Advocate for this part, but he knew someone had to. "Look, it's the only way unless you want to spend a month traveling overland? I'm sure that would be fun," he said sarcastically.

"I don't care. We are _not_ going to go on a ship." Elsa said firmly.

Kristoff held up his hands in defense. "I totally understand and I don't want to press the issue. But how else do you propose we get to Paris on time without leaving earlier than necessary?" He asked, silently holding his breath.

Anna looked like she was about to argue but stopped, thinking. Elsa had a somber contemplative look on her face. Kristoff hated himself at that moment. He knew the late King and Queen, Agnarr and Iduna, Anna and Elsa's parents, died out at sea traveling to Corona during a storm six years ago. It was little wonder why the two sisters didn't want to travel by sea to another country.

Anna and Elsa looked at each other. "What do you think Elsa?" Anna said hesitantly.

Elsa shook her head. "I don't like it, but it _is_ the fastest way to get there." She closed her eyes considering, then said, "Let's plan for either way; we still have time to think it over."

Kristoff nodded, "Alright." He scribbled something down on the piece of paper they had then set it aside. Somehow, making the travel itinerary had fallen to him, which he found highly strange. After all, he is the one that spent most of his life living in the mountains with trolls. He's never been to another country before. Maybe on a blue moon he managed to get into Sweden, but that hardly counted because he was still in the mountains.

Of course, neither of the sisters had been to another country either. In fact, out of the three, Kristoff is the most traveled of them. Somehow that got him the job.

"So we arrive in France, and I suppose we'll take a train or two to get to Paris," he said.

"Yes, and then we will find some sort of place to crash-" Anna started.

"Stay," Elsa corrected. "We are going to be there for a month."

"To stay and wait for gala night. Then we could explore Paris a bit before coming back home. What do you think?" Anna asked.

"Well, it's a start," Kristoff said. "Besides, the show you want to see is at the beginning of November. We could stay for a month and a half and still be back for the Christmas and New Year celebrations here."

"Which I also need to plan out before we leave so they can get going as soon as we get back." Elsa said. "If we go with this plan, then we'll have a short window of opportunity to get everything in order."

"Hey we'll manage!" Anna said, "We always do! Remember the time when-"

"Yes yes, don't remind me." Elsa cut her off right then, knowing what Anna was about to say. Another one of those _'must never be mentioned again' _moments. Suffice it to say, a couple of important visitors had arrived unannounced in Arendelle. It had been a very stressful time for the entire city, or at least for the royalty.

"So I think that this is what we're planning to do?" Elsa questioned the two.

"Sure!" Anna said. Kristoff just shrugged, indifferent.

"Very well then. We can discuss this more at a later date." Elsa stood up and then said, "So who wants to go ice skating?"

"Ooh ooh! I do! Let's go! I'll find Olaf!" Anna said as she ran off, almost tripping over herself and the chair as she stood up and ran out.

Kristoff sighed and said, "I'll make sure she doesn't destroy the castle." He followed the redhead out, leaving Elsa alone at the table.

Elsa smirked, thinking to herself. _It's definitely going to be something different, going to Paris. New faces, new places, new, well, everything. I wonder what it'll be like there._

Elsa started to walk out, but a sudden thought stopped her. _Wait. France. Paris. That means French. _

_ Does Anna know how to speak French?_

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**Sorry for the lack of Phantom in this chapter. However the next one will be all about him next time!**

**Until then, R.R.F.F.**

**-OrangeGalen**


	3. Populaire Preparations

**Have you missed me, good readers? Did you think that I would not update this at all? Well to be honest, I got sidetracked with all my other stories, plus college rolled along again and that threw everything off even more. So here I am finally! Hopefully updates will be a little more common now than before. **

**On another plus side, one of my favorite T.V shows, Once Upon A Time started up again tonight and it's a crossover writer's dream come true. Frozen is now on this show! *Fan squeal that would never be heard out loud* Love it!**

**Anyway, to the story!**

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Rejected titles: Building Up

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**Edit: 1/19/16**

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**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

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Paris: August 1875

The Phantom awoke for the first time in a long time feeling not quite akin to absolute garbage. He slowly sat himself up in his bed, which he had found after his meal and looked around. The candles were all but burnt down, the wicks just flickering glows barely above the melted wax. It was dark, but that didn't matter to the Phantom. His hangover was almost gone and he could think much clearer now, and he felt refreshed from his sleep. However he knew that he had had a nightmare, or a memory would be more accurate, that night as his body was covered in damp sweat and his skin was clammy. It was as if his treacherous body decided to have a nightmare without him knowing about it. But he had slept through it, which was a good thing since he didn't remember what it was about.

He worked himself off the bed. While he felt rested, his body was still weak from months of malnourishment, muscle atrophy, and alcohol consumption. However, the last few months for the Phantom were a blur, which he supposed he was grateful for because he didn't remember any specifics of days or even weeks.

Time is a funny thing underground. Days and weeks could pass without you noticing, or they could stretch on forever unless you bother to keep track somehow. Without the natural light of the sun to track time with, one could loose all sense of it, only with the natural sleep cycle of your body as some sort of pace keeper. And if your body got messed up somehow, such as if you haven't eaten in a day, or haven't slept regular hours, then it'll throw off everything.

The thing was is that the Phantom didn't mind all that much. Having spent all his life living in a cage or down in caves it made little difference how much time had passed. Nor did he care.

_Time makes me forget,_ he thought as he sat at his organ after eating a little bit of the bread. He planned to ration out the food a bit so it would last until he got his strength back to start getting food from the storage in the opera house. He didn't want to rely on any more charity, _or pity_, especially from Madame Giry.

_It makes me forget the pain of the past. I don't want to feel it anymore. It hurts too much to remember. Block it out and don't feel. That's the only way to survive in this world. Harden your heart to the woes of the Earth. _He glanced down at the organ he was sitting at. It was covered in a not so fine layer of dust, evidence of him not touching it for years.

When _She_ left, he waited for the ruckus to die down a bit before returning to his lair. Nothing had been disturbed since, as it seemed that the people were still too scared of the Opera Ghost to risk angering him by damaging his things. The Phantom had cleaned up the glass from the mirrors he smashed and made sure everything was still where it was. And now all of that was covered in dust.

After he came back, he attempted to lose himself in his music again. But as soon as he played the first line of a piece, he broke down, imagining _her_ voice singing along with his playing. Imagining her. After then, he couldn't play any of his instruments. Organ, violin, flute, none of them could heal his heart. In fact it made it worse. And singing was the worst because it reminded him of what could have been. It was so bad that he became sick two weeks after the fire. For a week he was fighting a fever and shivers. All the while he couldn't sleep because he kept seeing _her_ face and hearing _her_ voice in his mind. He recovered, but most of his strength had been lost since the sickness and hadn't been regained since.

So now he sat in the same organ seat that he last sat at four years ago. Dust had not spared the once magnificent instrument and now made it look a dull grey with hints of gold underneath. There was a fine layer of grime as well, giving the ivory keys a sickly green look.

The Phantom sat blankly staring at the organ, his mind delving down into the past. Unbidden, memories of him singing to her when he first brought her down here came to his forethoughts.

_~"Nighttime sharpens, heightens each sensation. Darkness stirs and wakes imagination. Silently the senses abandon their defenses…"~ _

He closed his eyes and leaned forward, his brow furrowed. _Indeed it did. When confronted with her dress and mannequin, she fainted and I needed to carry_ _her to bed. Oh, I do not doubt that both our imaginations were awakened that night. For me, it was a chance to finally live outside of this hell that has been my life. But for her, it was too much. The dream became the nightmare. She couldn't handle it._

_~"Floating, falling, sweet intoxication. Touch me, trust me-"~_

"No." Just one word destroyed the image. But another one rose to take its place.

_~"Damn you! You little prying Pandora! You little demon, is this what you wanted to see?"~ _

_Everything that I had worked for, destroyed in one reckless moment, one impulse she had. And just like that, it was destroyed. She saw my face, and she could never see me the same way again. Never. _

_~"Raoul I've seen him; can I ever forget that sight? Can I ever escape from that face so distorted, deformed it was hardly a face in that darkness. Darkness…"~_

_ Even then she wanted to escape from me. And I kept chasing her, unknowingly driving her away, even while she stood in front of me. _

_~"The bridge is crossed, so stand and watch it burn. We've past the point of no return…"~ _

_ No, don't think. Don't think. Don't remember anymore. Forget. Spare me the pain. _

The Phantom bowed his head and looked at the keys in front of him. He stared at them for longer than he cared to count before he shifted. Slowly he raised a hand and held it above the Bb key. _Do I dare try to play again? Do I dare try and resurrect the ghosts? _

Slowly his finger descended and hit the key. An ungodly sound tore through the chamber and forced the Phantom to lift his finger off hastily. He winced as the sound faded away, hoping nobody heard it for two reasons. _I hope no one heard that. I don't want anybody snooping around here. Plus that sound was just horrendous. Completely out of tune._ He stood up and went around to the side of the organ, and then to the other, examining it for the first time in years.

_After all these years of non-use I expected it to work just like before. I am a fool loosing his touch. I should have been maintaining my instruments like a musician._ He looked around his home as if seeing it for the first time.

_What is this place? Is this really what has become of my abode? Dust, and forgotten memories? Well, the memories can go to hell for all I care, but everything else?_ He trailed off as he surveyed everything. There were still pieces of glass on the floor that he missed the first time, and several of the candelabras were knocked over haphazardly. Sheets of paper, some containing music, were scattered throughout the lair. Dust covered it all.

The Phantom looked down and traced a gloved finger on the wood of the organ, leaving behind a trail. _Is this what has become of me? Dust and echoes? A story forgotten? Is it for the best that I cease to exist? What is my life compared to others? I'm unimportant, a disgusting gargoyle born into this world, one that should never have existed. Why should I even bother?_

While he was thinking, he was making patterns into the dust unconsciously. By the time he realized what he was doing, it had developed into a full-blown dust drawing. He looked down and saw what his hand had been doing. He had drawn a full music measure, all five bars and the treble sign and had started with some notes before he stopped.

_Even while I'm not trying, I still feel music. Why? She was supposed to take it away from me when she left. How could I still think about music?_

He sat down again at the chair and thought about his new conundrum. After a while the candles started to burn lower and the Phantom rose to replace them. As he went over to a drawer to get more out, he came across a page that had the title _The Phantom of the Opera _with music underneath.

Suddenly he had an answer. _It's who I am. I am the Phantom of the Opera. I am the owner of the Opera Populaire. I am a genius musician and magician. My heart beats music whether I want it to or not. I am the Phantom. _

He looked around once again, seeing things in a new light once more. _I've let this place run down to ruin haven't I?_ He thought to himself. He turned back to the organ and took in how bad it looked. _Now I know what Antoinette was talking about when she came down here yesterday._

Another remembrance came to him. _"The new opera season is starting up soon, in a few weeks. Normally I wouldn't recommend someone in your state to oversee them, but seeing that you are you, I'm betting you'll be your old self in that time."_

_Why did she want me to oversee the opera? All I've done is cause problems when things weren't going my way. _

_No… _he thought it through. _She knows what I can do, what I can achieve through music. She knew how much it means to me. That's why she's offering that to me. My last redeeming virtue. To gift the world with my music. But I have no music to write anymore. Inspiration has fled me forever and I doubt that I could ever write again._

_ That doesn't mean I can't help great music be performed. _

He stood there for a moment before moving deeper into the cavern. Going through a curtain, he opened a cabinet and pulled out several rags and cleaning solutions. He moved out into the main area and put the items on a table_. Antoinette is right; I'm not ready to get out into the opera house again yet. But there are things I can do here first before then. A little housecleaning would suffice until I'm ready for bigger things, until I rebuild my strength to move about freely. _

The Phantom moved to the closest paper on the floor and picked it up. It was part of another piece that he had written previously, but the first couple of pages weren't nearby. Sighing to himself, the Phantom moved about, picking up the paper not caring for the order of them, for that could be straightened out on a later date. Once he had an armful, he put the pile on the table and went to collect another. When he finished, he had about four piles of paper and parchment on the table, all disorganized which pained the Phantom slightly. If it were the past, it would have been unbearable for him to see music so... disorganized, like it was worthless. Now, it was just a mild pang.

Once the papers had been cleared away, he moved to repair the candelabras that were crashed over and replaced the candles in all of them. Soon, the dark gloom of the lair was lit almost as brightly as when…

_Don't finish that thought. Forget,_ The Phantom commanded himself. He went to a closet and pulled out a broom and started sweeping. There were several pauses in his work as he waited for the cloud of dust to settle back down and his coughing fits to subside. Eventually, even the glass was gathered up with the dust and the floor was now dust free. Particles of dirt were floating on the lake from the sweeping.

The Phantom got a bin and brushed all the stuff into it, finishing his floor cleaning. He then realized how tired he was. _My body isn't ready for hard work yet,_ he realized. _I have to ease back into it._ Brushing himself off, he went to his personal room. But before he got there, he made a detour to the kitchen. He took another slice of bread and ate it, then rummaged through the cabinets and took out all the liquor and set it on the table there. He gave the variously shaped bottles a hard look before deciding. He put the red and white wine back, the one bottle of champaign and one of the whiskeys. Then he took the remaining, which amounted to about five bottles of the harder stuff, and with one last longing look, poured them down the sink before he changed his mind.

_Never going to drink like that again_, he vowed. His business done, he tossed the now empty bottles and continued back to his room. Once there he took off his shirt and went to his own bed and drifted off into sleep.

* * *

Over the next few days the Phantom would fall into sort of a routine. He would wake up usually covered in sweat from both his nightmares and getting over his liquor abstinence. He would then change and get something to eat from the supplies Giry brought down. Once he finished, he would start cleaning and repairing things in his abode. He swept multiple times to make sure everything was gone and got the dust off of the furniture and instruments. He would go through several rags a day and needed to make more cleaning solution multiple times from running out.

After he got tired of cleaning, he would work on the instruments he had. The organ was the most visibly worse of everything there. He made it so that when he was pressing the keys the organ wouldn't make a sound, allowing him to clean off the keys in relative silence, save for the various noises he made. He then spent the rest of the third day cleaning out the organ, inside and out and once he finished proceeded to Voice it.

As one could imagine, several years of inactivity would make any instrument sound horrendous. The Phantom's organ, no matter the quality, was no exception. It was severely out of tune and the Phantom spent many hours getting the beats to be non-existent. Eventually he was satisfied with the progress he made and finished up the day.

The next he went to work on the other instruments, namely his violin. All the strings needed to be redone and tuned again, and the bowstring also needed to be replaced. He checked it over and cleaned it up and then proceeded to play and tune it. Nothing major came out of it, nothing that made the music magical. At that point in time, it was just notes and scales being played. While he played them excellently for having not touched it for so long, there was no feeling in his playing. In fact he kept muttering to himself to "not remember," and to "not feel." The Phantom then finished and repaired his flute, clarinet, and cello in much the same way, hating how his mind went back to _those_ days.

But at least he got them working again.

After he finished most of the cleaning, he went about organizing his music and doing basic exercises to regain his muscle strength. He had a room specifically designed so he could practice getting around the opera house easily and he had left it alone for quite a while, when he was at his pinnacle of greatness. Now it served to help his body get back the muscles he lost. He started slowly, only doing small amounts of exercises, but gradually worked his close to normal. Push-ups, pull-ups and crunches, the lot of it. He also had some specialized equipment for climbing up ropes and other various things that would be present in the opera house. He even started doing his swordplay and fencing sets again, just so he could get back in the habit again.

With his music, while he didn't write or play it again, he was diligent to sort it out. He had forgotten how many numerous pieces he had written over his long years down in the depths, completed or otherwise. Once again, music was spread out on the floor, but this time in separate piles to organize it. Page by antagonizing page, he went through them all and gathered them up by opera or song. It was slow going but progress was being made.

By the end of the week, the Phantom had partially started to fit his clothes again, getting some more definition in his figure, both from the food and from exercise. He was still weak considering and his food had started to run out.

_I can't stay here much longer rationing out the food; that's partially what got me into this situation in the first place. I need to keep eating to get my body strength back. I have only one option: I need to go up _there_ and get food. _His decision made, he gathered everything that he would need and started his trek upwards.

He took the path that would lead him close to the kitchens. While it had been a long time since he had gone this way, he still remembered each path his tunnels made and where they came out. Making the correct turns, he found himself at the beginning of another tunnel. However this one was shorter and led to a wooden wall. But that wall wasn't as solid as it seemed.

The Phantom put down his bag he brought and pressed his ear against the wall, listening for any sounds. He had admittedly lost track of time and needed to make sure he wasn't coming out in the middle of a meal or rehearsal, otherwise he could be spotted easily.

Hearing nothing, he pressed a certain spot, causing the wall to slide over quite noiselessly. The Phantom was surprised at how well it worked, considering that he hadn't oiled the wheels in a long time. Thanking his luck for the moment, he pushed the wall open the rest of the way.

He found himself in an empty kitchen, once again thanking his luck. Grabbing his bag, he went out, trying to make as little noise as possible. He wasn't as silent as he used to be and now could hear his footsteps. If he could hear them, then someone else could. But that was something he could work on in the future. He went around the cabinets, grabbing a little bit of everything, not taking too much otherwise somebody would notice it and that would lead to unanswerable questions and suspicions. He slowly filled his bag with various foods and some spices. Having a sizable bag, he went back over to the wall and entered again, leaving the kitchen visibly untouched.

The Phantom made good time back to his home and unloaded his bag into the various cabinets, leaving out some of it to make a meal. As he finished, he thought back on today. He felt… satisfied. It was a strange feeling, one that he hadn't felt in years. He realized that it was because he started feeling like the Phantom again. Sneaking around, stealing from the opera house, and basically causing mischief again. For the first time in years, he was acting like his old self.

That realization made him smile under his mask.

* * *

As the next week rolled along, the Phantom became stronger and more like how he was before. He had gone back to the kitchen once more and it seemed that his previous escapade had gone unnoticed and that allowed him to continue to get his food there. He had also continued his exercises as well and now was almost back to where he was several years ago.

But today he would do something different. He would actually overlook the upcoming opera finally. He took a few things with him that he might need: a knife, rope, parchment, and, just in case, the special liquid that would make someone's voice croak, like what he did to Carlotta in _Il Muto_. _It never hurts to be prepared_, he thought as he crept into the bowls of the opera house.

Unknown to many, the opera house was filled with passageways hidden in the walls and fake hallways. Trapdoors and false walls littered the place making it hazardous for people to get lost in at times, but only if they are truly uncoordinated. Most of the time trapdoors would open and immediately be closed due to the mechanisms being triggered improperly to prevent anybody from falling in, or unwanted guests. Not all of these ploys were designed by the Phantom, as some were used by the stage crew, but he adapted all of them to suit his needs.

However, since the fire there were a few of those that were torn down because of structural damage, so the Phantom needed to make a detour to get where he wanted. Which was Box five. _His_ box.

As he grew closer, he could hear the sounds of rehearsals taking place onstage. Hearing the music made him go a little bit faster so he could see and hear better. Eventually he came to a small ladder inside a wall, which led directly to his box. He started climbing and eventually reached the point where he could enter the box. He checked to make sure there was no one in there, but he had no need to worry; the fear of infringing on the Phantom's box was still great even after all these years. The last person to enter was only sent there to clean it, and they did it hurriedly, but it was clean at least.

The Phantom crept out and took a seat perched on the edge of the shadows, just enough so that he could see everything, but nobody could see him. And he took in everything. The ballet corps was onstage and Madame Giry was once again in charge. Seeing her sculpt the ballerinas brought a nostalgic slight smile to his lips, especially when she smacked her cane down to get their attention and seeing their small jumps.

"No, no, no, Natalie get to your position and keep your hands extended, not loose like a lame duck. And Minnie, keep that smirk to yourself, you were late on that last twirl. Again!" Madame Giry's voice rang out through the rafters.

Above them, there were a few stagehands coordinating the moving of props, and of course there were a few admiring the view of the girls below them. The Phantom narrowed his eyes as he caught sight of a dirty blond man that he could tell reeked of alcohol, practically drooling over the sight of the ballerinas before he got dragged back to work. The Phantom shook his head in disgust. _Pathetic._

As rehearsals went along, eventually the orchestra came into the pit. The Phantom got a small surprise when he saw Monsieur Reyer still as the conductor. _Heaven knows why he's still around after all that happened here. I suppose the manager hired him back because of his affinity with the Populaire. _He blanked on the name of the manager. _Someone else I'll have to get to know later. _

That 'later' came sooner than he expected. The day was almost over and they were preparing for a last rehearsal when the manager came in. He was a middle-aged man with brown hair and a straight posture. He had a slight goatee and he walked with a purpose, dressed in moderately upmarket clothes that gave a statement that he knew he was higher than you, but didn't shove it in your face.

The Phantom immediately picked him out and waited to see what would happen. Silently he was judging the new manager to see how he compared to the others, and whether he needed to be motivated to do his job like those last two fops.

"Ah, Monsieur Barrett, now we can begin." Reyer said.

"Yes, let's see what this looks like now." Barrett said, leaning forward analyzing the stage and the people on it. Immediately he was bumped up further on the Phantom's scale just by showing an interest in what was going on, at least beyond the wanting gazes at the dancing girls. _Already better than the last two. _

The music started up in a classical piece that gradually sped up in subtle movements. The Phantom noticed that some of the ballerinas were having trouble adjusting to the tempo changes. Before they continued on much longer, Barrett called for a halt and stepped forward to the stage.

"That was good until measure 52. Do you know what happens there?" He asked the ballerinas.

It was silent until a voice said, "That's when the beat speeds up." Both the Phantom and the manager looked and saw the one that spoke. It was Meg Giry, the daughter of Madame Giry.

"Exactly." Barrett said. "The change is a small jump and if you miss the change, then the entire thing is ruined because you'll spend the rest of it trying to catch up. Be quick about it and pay attention. You'll hear a slight dynamic change before that happens, so keep your ears open. Remember this is when Surgin is sneaking up to capture the princess from Kairo." He turned to Monsieur Reyer. "Once more, start at the phrase before the change."

Reyer nodded and the orchestra turned their pages while the ballerinas went to their positions. Barrett went to his seat and said, "Whenever you're ready."

The orchestra started up again and the ballerinas were slightly hesitant before they started, but once again the tempo change was subtle enough for them to get thrown off. "Stop!" Barrett shouted, "Again! You need to know every position. I could call any one I want and I expect you to know it. I'm generous and starting at the beginning of the phrase, but I might not be later once you get it. Again."

This scenario repeated itself twice more before Barrett was content with it. The rest of the rehearsal went more or less smoothly and at the end Barrett seemed satisfied. "Good work today. Get some rest for tomorrow because it'll be another day of practice." He stood up and made his way out of the auditorium while the rest of the ballerinas broke for the day. Some of them tried to get some of their more difficult moves down while the majority of them went back to their dormitories or to get something to eat.

Antoinette was talking to Meg for a moment before she sent her off and told the rest of the dancers to clear the stage. Once it was, she stood there for a moment before starting to walk off. But she stopped and looked up towards box five. He swore he saw the ghost of a smirk on her face before she left. The Phantom narrowed his eyes slightly as he edged himself back into the shadows.

_Damn woman, she knows I'm back._ _That women will be the end of me eventually_. He sighed, knowing there was little he could do about it, if anything. Quietly, he exited his box and made his way down to the ground floor. He wove in and out of the shadows along the secret paths through the opera house. Just before he was about to enter the hidden door to one of his tunnels, he heard a small scuffle inside a room.

Curious, he crept up and silently peaked inside, then entered himself, not making any sound. The four occupants of the room didn't notice as three of them were focused on the fourth. The Phantom narrowed his eyes in disgust. Even from the back, he recognized that dirty blond man from before and realized what this was. It was sadly not uncommon for stagehands, especially drunk stagehands, to try and take advantage of a woman. In this case, one of the ballerinas, who had managed to change in the short period of time from rehearsals broke.

"Now, now, don' be goin' making a fuss now mademoiselle. If you'll just giv' us what we want, we'll leave ya alone." The dirty blond said for the three of them.

"Please, just go away." The girl said, her black hair covering part of her face.

"Nah, I don' think so. We're goin' to have a good time together. Why would you skip out on that?"

"Touch me and I'll scream." The girl said, her voice betraying her fear.

"You won't do that, and if you'll do, well, tha's not going to be good."

The Phantom had enough. While he was tempted to kill the man, it was too great a risk. Besides, he wasn't so sure of his strength as he once was and with two other men, they could take him down easily. _No, there is an alternative, _he thought. He noticed that the dirty blond was taking swigs of his flask, which he could smell the whiskey in it. Creeping closer, the Phantom emerged quickly out of the shadows and opened the flask, pouring in that special concoction before he put it back.

A few seconds later he retreated as the blond took a swig and put it down. "Now are we goin' to do th-HURROK!" His voice cracked halfway through his speech in a terrible croak. The three me looked confused for a moment before the blond tried again. "Now are w-EEEECHK!" His voice cracked again and the Phantom behind a stage prop smirked to himself.

"Oy, Murray, what gotten into you?" the man on the right said.

"It's no-OAGHTH-ing." He growled as it happened again. "Alright, wh-AAAATHS-?" He cut himself off and the two men were trying hard not to laugh. "St-OOOp-! C-UUUt! God Da-AAAHM!" By then the two men were in hysterics at Murray trying to talk. Murray growled and said, "C-UUOOM on. Let's go. It's noOOOt werth it." He literally dragged the two men behind him as they couldn't stop laughing, leaving behind a really confused ballerina and an amused Phantom.

Seeing that his work was done, he silently went out of the room and went to his original door. He came back to his lair and as he stood there, he gave a bark of laughter. _And I thought Carlotta's reaction was hilarious._ He chuckled to himself before taking off his cape and hung it up on a rack, then proceeded to undress himself for sleep. _Today was a good day,_ he concluded as his mind drifted off into sleep.

* * *

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

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**Thank you for being patient with me. College is a real pain if you want to get things done. **

**Enough of that. Next time, we'll get back to Anna, Elsa, and Kristoff and their story of getting to Paris. **

**As always, Read, Review, Favorite, Follow. (R.R.F.F)**

**I remain your humble writer, **

**-OG.**


	4. I Hate Ships!

**Stuff happens, writing gets delayed, writing other stories instead, same old excuses. But I'm back! This chapter is something else. I've seemed to have lost my ability to write chapters that are less than 5,000 words, so this the backlash of that inability. I never intended this chapter to be this long, but I needed to be told. **

**One thing you should all do, preferably after you read this chapter, is to go read the other two POTO/Frozen stories on this site. **  
**_Unmasked_\- by Megknsis**  
**_Angels of Song &amp; Ice_\- by onyx faye**

**Do it!**

**Now onto my chapter!**

* * *

**Edited: 1/20/16**

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**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

* * *

Arendelle: October 1875

The months had passed surprisingly fast for the royal family and friends. It was the day before Anna, Elsa, and Kristoff were supposed to sail off to France and head to Paris for the Opera. While the sisters were still hesitant to travel by ship, Kristoff had eventually convinced them that it was the best way for them to get to the country, sometimes resorting to nefarious tactics like bribery with special chocolate to get them to agree. Anna had gotten over her fear of boats by taking to exploring the docks and the ships that landed, getting more familiar with what to expect. Oftentimes she would drag Kristoff with her if he wasn't doing anything (and sometimes even when he was). Anna _had_ gone sailing with their father when she was younger, but that was many years ago and only on a little sailboat, not a galley, and certainly not for several days in a row, so it was like relearning something all over again.

Elsa had also busied herself in making sure that the kingdom could manage itself without her for a month or two. That meant getting ahead of the paperwork and arranging certain things, or postponing them, like that Open Lot project that was getting nowhere. Some of those were just plain shoved into a cabinet and left for someone dig up as some archeological excavation later.

Elsa had taken up Anna's advice and volunteered, or as Anna later put it, volun_told_, her staff to help her with the papers. On occasion she even got Anna to help when she wasn't bouncing around the castle like normal. That pile that was on her desk that day had eventually vanished… _naturally_ this time by getting completed, not by being hidden. However it still made for very late nights and early mornings for the Queen. It was not uncommon to see Elsa with circles under eyes, a document in one hand, and a cup of _extremely_ strong coffee in the other that was almost syrup. But it got the job done and the paperwork became manageable again.

In the few moments that they had, Elsa later learned that Anna _did_ in fact know French as she was slightly forced to when she was younger. But as one could imagine, it didn't go over very well and Anna didn't remember much from her lessons. So Elsa had started tutoring Anna and sometimes Kristoff when he had the time in the basics of French. She had taken to saying things to Anna in French at random times during the day and most of the time she would get a "What? Oh- uhh" and some mangled response that Elsa sighed at and then corrected. Anna was getting better, but it seemed that Elsa would have to do most of the talking while in France.

Kristoff was not sitting back being lazy during this time and was also busy. In-between all the other things that went on in the castle he was making sure the rest of the ice miners could follow without his direction. But since it was getting towards the colder part of the year, there wasn't as much demand for ice anymore and business was slower so there really wasn't much to do on that front. Or any front for him. Kristoff frankly was at a loss. Yes, he had managed to get tickets and a travel plan all laid out and calmed the sisters about their own fears, but he had his own as well. He was going to be roughly introduced into high-society for arguably the second time (Arendelle aristocracy he understood wasn't as ruthless as some others) and he was just a mountain man. And even he knew things would be different in Paris than in Arendelle, at least with mannerisms, customs, and the such.

So as much as he hated himself to do so, he asked Elsa and Anna for etiquette lessons, mainly from Elsa though for obvious reasons, not that he would say it out loud when a certain redhead was around. Anna could manage when she tried, but in her own words, "where's the fun in being pompous and stuck up all the time?"

There was another alternative reason Kristoff wanted to go to Elsa, but every time he lost his nerve somehow. Elsa seemed to notice something was off and gave him strange looks every time this happened, but waited for him to spit it out. Figuratively though, sometimes he was eating when this happened.

This was basically the routine of what the last couple of months were like before today, the day before they planned on leaving.

* * *

"Mom nom es Anna. Comment allez-vous aujourur_urrr_… uhh…"

Elsa sighed, "First off, it's 'Mon nom est Anna'."

"Isn't that what I said?"

"Not quite. But the second part was good until you lost it." Elsa assured her sister.

Anna groaned and flopped back in her chair. "I don't think I _had_ it to begin with. Heck, even Kristoff gets French better than I do. I think this trip I'll be completely silent. I'll be a mute. You can say that right? 'My sister is mute and can't speak your incredibly confusing language.' It shouldn't be hard right? I can pass for a mute right?"

Elsa gave her sister an amused smile. "Anna, I don't think you could be silent for more than five minutes."

"Wanna' bet?" Anna challenged.

Elsa rolled her eyes, "It wouldn't be much of a bet because I know I'll win."

"Alright, if I stay silent for more than five minutes you'll, uhh, have to give me all your chocolate desert tonight."

Elsa gave Anna a cold stare that had nothing to do with her ice powers. "Take away my chocolate and I'll freeze you to the ceiling again."

"But you'll let me down anyway." Anna smirked.

"I'll leave you here when we go to Paris." Elsa countered.

Anna narrowed her eyes, "You wouldn't dare."

"Then leave chocolate out of this." Elsa replied.

Anna frowned and grunted. "Fine." Elsa rolled her eyes again at her sister's antics.

"Let's try this again." Elsa said, getting both of them back on track.

"Elsa_aaaa,"_ Anna groaned as her head hit the table, "we've been at this for months. I can't learn it completely by tomorrow. That's physically impossible!" Anna said as she shot up again, waving her arms around in exasperation. "And don't you dare say 'well you won't with that mindset'!"

"Then I won't." Elsa said deliberately. When Anna groaned again, Elsa added, "Besides, it's not like we're going to be magically transported there tomorrow; we still have a good week to learn." That just made Anna disappear more into her despairing shell. Elsa sighed again, knowing she would have to resort to bribery. Again. "Okay Anna, if we keep this going for another hour, and you actually try, I'll give you some of my dessert pieces."

Anna tried to not look interested, but Elsa knew her too well. "How much?" Anna asked.

"A fourth." Elsa offered.

"Half." Anna countered.

"A third or none at all." Elsa said as her final proposal.

Anna seemed to think about it. "Okay!" And at the promise of extra chocolate, she was back to her perky self.

_All too easy,_ Elsa thought to herself. "Now, what's 'please' in French?"

"Sea blue plaît."

_Or not_.

* * *

Another painful hour later and Elsa had to admit Anna had _technically _shown improvement. Somewhat. It was debatable.

The hour passed not very quickly for both of the sisters. To be fair to Anna, she did in fact try to get French down, but it was tooth-pulling work for Elsa, as she had to teach it. By the end of it, both of them were glad that it was over and Anna practically ran out of the room, leaving behind a mentally tired Elsa.

_It always surprises me how metal workouts can be tiring for the entire body,_ Elsa thought as she closed the French language book and set it back on the shelf. They studied in Elsa's private study and the bookcase was filled with books on language. Elsa both took Anna and Kristoff in here to teach them both French. Kristoff seemed to get that he didn't need to know every singe detail about the language and just focused on the basics, enough to have a moderate conversation, which Elsa approved of. Anna however wanted to learn everything and was frankly too scatterbrained to get those basics down, or at least as easier. Anna did learn more but couldn't retain it and Kristoff was slower but steadier in his approach.

Elsa came out of her study and went down to the great hall. Ever since they opened the gates three years ago there was always a few people milling about the courtyard, either just on a stroll or admiring their Queen's work with the ice sculptures. Elsa had set up a small area outside where she would leave some of the things she made in practice. And with the open gates, even the castle was accessible to the common folk. Though they were strictly limited in where they could go and what they could do. Mainly it was just to discuss some grievance they have or thank Elsa for something. Elsa wasn't so lax as to not have guards around inside and outside. Weaseltown was still very much protesting the embargo Arendelle had with them and the Duke had sent many… _choicely_ worded letters to Elsa stating this fact confirming the fact that she did the right thing.

_The Duke may be full of bluster, but that doesn't mean he can't send someone to take care of his work for him,_ Elsa reflected. _And as for Hans… thankfully he's still in the Southern Isles, the last I heard._

Elsa shook these thoughts off. _No use lingering on those memories. The past is in the past. Let it go._ She smirked inwardly at her own joke, one that Anna would get as well.

Soon after coming back, Elsa had worked on writing down the song and putting piano music with it. She had sung it a few times for Anna, but that was ages ago. For some reason, she had stopped signing. She just didn't feel motivated to sing out loud anymore. Not that she felt strongly about it, just curious.

Elsa was distracted from her thoughts once again when a familiar snowman with a snow cloud over his head came across her. "Mama!"

Elsa smiled at Olaf, "Hey Olaf," she said as she knelt down and hugged the snowman, "How are you doing?"

"Pretty okay. I'm sad that you're going somewhere without me though." He said.

A pang of regret came through Elsa at those words. They had told Olaf that he would have to remain here in Arendelle while they were in France and he seemed more confused than hurt. "I'm sorry about that Olaf, but people outside of Arendelle aren't used to seeing a live snowman. They're likely to do what Anna did the first time she saw you." Anna told her later that she got freaked out and kicked Olaf's head off when he first made his appearance.

"Yeeeeah, I don't want to be kicked around like a football." Olaf admitted. Elsa decided not to say that that would probably be one of the lesser evils people would do. Burning at the stake came to mind.

"Don't worry Olaf, we'll be back before you know it. Besides, you can visit the trolls or the Snowgies whenever you want."

Olaf's face brightened at that. "Yea! Kristoff's family is really fun! You should go more often." He said.

Elsa blinked_. I'm still not used to the idea of _trolls_ as Kristoff's family, even after three years._ She had gone to visit soon after her coronation with Anna and Kristoff to discuss what had transpired. The old troll had expressed regret at her parent's actions and conveyed that he had wished they had acted differently. However, he was excited that everything turned out all right in the end.

Of course that depended on your view of 'all right'. But Elsa wasn't going to get into that again. They got it mostly figured out two years ago after Elsa's major breakdown.

Returning back to the present, Olaf wasn't finished yet. "Oh! Speaking of which, Kristoff sent me to tell you that he wanted you to go to the sables where he is right now to talk with him."

After Elsa wrapped her mind around his roundabout way of saying 'Kristoff wanted to talk to her in the stables', Elsa said, "Okay, I'll go there now. Do you want to come with me?" She asked.

Olaf shook his head, "Nah, I want to find Anna next and give her a hug. _After all, warm hugs are my specialty,"_ he whispered conspiratorially.

Elsa giggled at Olaf's childishness. "Well, I'm pretty sure Anna would like one. Also give her a hug from me too while you're at it." Elsa added, feeling that her sister needed some comfort after another… _rough_ French lesson.

"Alright! I'll give her the best hug she's ever had twice!" Olaf then chuckled to himself and walked off towards Anna's room. Elsa watched her first creation with a smile playing across her face until he disappeared around a corner. Then she gathered herself and made her way to the castle stables.

She found Kristoff feeding Sven carrots, and talking to him. Or having a conversation with him. Elsa tried to put that out of her mind whenever she saw that firsthand and calked it up to their idiosyncrasies. _After all, Anna talks to pictures on the wall and is scatterbrained; I have ice magic and used to talk to my reflection in the mirror. So what if Kristoff talks to Sven and replies for him? I guess we all are a little crazy. _

Elsa caught the last bit of their conversation as she went in. "No Sven, this time I am going to actually ask her."

"That's what you said the last time." Kristoff replied in 'Sven's' voice.

"Well I mean it. That's why we're going."

Elsa stepped around the pillar and cleared her throat to signify her presence. Kristoff and Sven both looked up at her in surprise. "Olaf said you wanted to speak with me?" Elsa said, deliberately pretending that she didn't hear the last few lines of dialogue.

"Uhh, err, yea-yes." Kristoff said. His eyes were darting around, showing signs of his obvious nervousness. "I wanted to ask you if you wanted to go up to visit my parents before we leave tomorrow, y'know, for some last minute advice or warnings or something. It might be good to see if they know anything about France you-we might not know." He corrected himself.

In a way, Elsa was amused at his nervousness. _He obviously wants me to go with him, that wasn't his question he wanted to ask me. If I don't go, it'll obviously throw off whatever he has planned and ruin _some_thing. If he's spent this long thinking about this, I should better take this opportunity. _Elsa had a sneaking suspicion of what Kristoff wanted to ask her, but wanted to see how it'll play out.

"All right, are we taking your sled?" Elsa asked smoothly. Elsa was rewarded with a sudden blank stare before Kristoff realized that she _agreed_ to go with him.

"Huh? Oh yea, I'll just get Sven harnessed up and we'll go." He said as he opened the door for Sven and led him out back. Elsa allowed the faintest of smiles to cross her face before masking it as she followed.

Soon enough Sven was harnessed up to the sled and Kristoff led her into the sled. It was still the same one that Elsa had ordered made for Kristoff after Anna explained everything that he had done for her and, of course, how she may or may not have indirectly been the direct partial cause of the total absolute destruction of his sled. It had a few nicks and could use a bit of polishing but otherwise it was what one would expect from three years of ice harvesting.

Kristoff, with a lack of usual gruffness, helped Elsa into the sled, even though she didn't really need the help. That also clued her in more to the fact that Kristoff was buttering her up for something. After he helped her, he got in and Sven started moving the sled forward.

It wasn't long until they got to the mountains and snow-covered ground. The sled started moving a bit easier; now on the terrain it was designed to be on and thus the travelers started moving faster. Elsa had a lazy smile across her face as she watched the surroundings pass them by, lightly covered in snow. It was energizing to see the beginnings of winter for her, as she was the personification of it. Even now, she could feel the snow underneath them if she concentrated. It was soothing, almost like a distant melodic song to her that she almost dozed off before they reached their destination.

Elsa was jolted out of her stupor when the sled slowed to a halt and Kristoff got out. "We're here." He said. Elsa nodded and got out as well, once again with Kristoff acting like a gentleman and helping her down.

The Valley of the Living Rock had two meanings to the name. The first was that the site was on top of some natural hot springs. Over time, pressure had built up so that there were several vents in the earth for vapor to escape from, creating for a moment a sauna like environment around them before moving to another location. This effect made the valley quite warmer than the surrounding mountains, so much that during Elsa's 'Eternal Winter' coronation fiasco, the valley didn't even get a hint of snow. These vents to a bystander would look like the rock was breathing and exhaling, hence the name Living Rock.

The other reason was a bit more obvious and magical. A clan of rock trolls lived there.

They were an enigma to Elsa; one that she was comfortable not trying to solve, except when it concerned her. The trolls had magic of their own, to which the extent of it reached Elsa didn't know. And to be frank, she really didn't care all that much as she had her own powers to deal with and explore. She'd only seen the trolls twice, once when they removed Anna's memories on _that _night, and the other a month or so after her coronation.

It was that second visit that sent Elsa digging deep into her parent's lives to figure out why they did what they did. The results weren't pretty and the repercussions on the living royal family were enormous.

It created a strained relationship between the sisters for a while before they sat down and talked about it, both calmly and not.

Once again, Elsa shook those thoughts from her head. _The past is in the past,_ she thought again. _We've talked it through and we're back to where we were before, just with more understanding of the other's position._

She turned her attention of a circular clearing with round mossy covered stones littered around. While they may seem oddly placed, Elsa knew for a fact that they weren't just stones.

"Hey everybody, sorry for being gone for such a while, but we've had some things to take care off." Kristoff said to the open glen. If it were anybody else, and in a different place, he would have been labeled (well he already had been) crazy. "Wow, you're looking particularly spiffy today. Did you steam yourself in the vents? I like it." Kristoff continued talking to seemingly random rocks for a few more seconds before they started rolling on their own, gathering around the two humans.

Then they uncurled themselves and the faces of the rock trolls looked at them. "Kristoff's home! And he's brought the Queen!" Was immediately added when they saw Elsa and they bowed out of respect. Elsa curtsied, accepting their respect.

"Hey guys and gals," Kristoff said, "Good to see you again, but I was hoping to talk to Pabbie if by any chance he's available."

"I'm here," the elder troll said, stepping out of the crowd, "What is it you wish to talk about?"

"Well, I'm going on a trip with Anna and Elsa to Paris and is there anything that you could do to help us with anything?"

"I might not know much about France, since we trolls are tied to the valley, but I could offer you two some general advice," he said to the two. "Unlike Arendelle, other countries take royalty very seriously, and the royals themselves take themselves seriously. The proper respect must be shown and wordplay is a fine art performed with a hidden knife waiting. However if you manage to impress and befriend the right people, you will find Paris enjoyable."

Elsa nodded, thinking back to her father's lessons about ruling. _"Walking the fine line between complements and insults is common on the main continent. Once you are queen you will have to deal with ambassadors that are fluent in this language: the language of politics and money." _

_Every once in a while your lessons come in handy Father_, Elsa thought. Kristoff spoke again, "So it'll be just like when you have diplomats over then huh?" he said. "I guess that'll mean you'll be a normal queen then, huh? _I mean! _\- Uhh…" Kristoff immediately recognized his mistake, but it was too late.

Fortunately Elsa overlooked the obvious and went with the intentional implication. "It's all right Kristoff, I know what you were trying to say and I willfully admit that we aren't the most… conventional aristocracy in the world. However, it does have its benefits, no?" She sounded questioningly, waiting for Kristoff's attempt to make up his comment.

"Certainly," he said assuredly and continued, "The people love you and Anna and like you as their Queen. Plus the gates are still open; that counts for something, right?"

Elsa gave him a smile, "Right." She turned her attention back to Pabbie, "Do you have any other advice?"

The troll smiled, "None that I could think of. You'll all be fine I presume. What is it that you plan to do in Paris?"

"I guess some sightseeing and go visit a new opera house for a gala or two that Anna found out about." Elsa noticed a flash of… _something_ cross the troll's face as she mentioned the opera house, but it returned to normal by the time she was done.

"Ah, well then, I hope you've brushed up on your Italian," he said and was rewarded with two faces with varying degrees of worry. "No? Then how about French?"

Kristoff gave a sheepish smile, "We've been trying, but I think that Elsa's the only one that will be able to talk without causing a diplomatic incident between the three of us."

"Ahh, I see your problem. However that is one thing that I can help with. If you'll excuse me for a moment, I will return shortly. Perhaps it would be a good time to ask anything that needs asking." He said with a very pointed look at Kristoff. Kristoff started to get noticeably nervous and was about to say something when Pabbie rolled up and away.

_I could have sworn I saw a smirk on his face,_ Elsa thought as she watched the troll round a bend. She turned to Kristoff with a carefully crafted curious look on her face. "I wonder what he meant by that?" She said curiously, or at attempted to sound like it.

Kristoff started to get even more uncomfortable. "Ah, well, he, I uhh," he cleared his throat and tried again, "Well, I've, uhh, been meaning to ask you about… something."

"Oh? What that might be?"

"It's just a small thing, I-uhh, well, not really that small, but in the grand scheme of- uhh, hoo-boy…"

Elsa gave a caring smile to Kristoff. "Hey, come on. We've known each other for three years. Ask away." Inside however, Elsa was milking this for all its worth.

"I, I, I," Kristoff stuttered, before he stopped and restarted. _"MayIhaveyourblessingtomarryAnna?"_ He said in one go, _very_ quickly.

Elsa blinked. "Wait, what? Can you repeat that, I didn't catch what you said?"

Kristoff's eyes widened even further now. He swallowed, "May I have your blessing to- to marry Anna?"

Elsa's face fell as Kristoff's words sunk in. "You want to marry my sister." She said in a flat voice.

"Y-yes." Kristoff stuttered again.

"And what makes you think that you want to marry her?" Elsa's voice was getting progressively… icy.

"I- uhh, why I want to marry her? Ah, well, Anna's… she's… uhh…"

Elsa's eyes narrowed, "If you can't even say why you want to marry her, why should I give you my blessing?"

"No no no no no, I didn't mean- what I meant is, is that I don't know where to begin. Anna's funny, cute, lively, caring, sweet, pretty, energetic, she never lets anything get her down for long, and she's always there if you need her. When she and I met, I got thrown out of a shop, and she was kind enough to buy the supplies I wanted for me. Granted, it was because she wanted me to take her up to see you on the North Mountain, but that's beside the point. She could have ordered me to go up without buying the things, but she didn't. That goes to show you that she cares about others first, putting their needs above her own."

Elsa nodded slowly, seemingly still unconvinced. "All that my be true, but what does that prove? That you notice what she does?"

"Yes, well, I mean not _that_ closely, I uh, well, but I've known her for three years. Everything that she does I love about her. The way that she's still half asleep in the mornings when she comes down to when she talks to strangers I love about her. She's… incredible. Even when she split the lake that one time I couldn't blame her as she was so sorry and eager at the same time." Elsa's eye twitched a bit at that.

The moment he was referring to was when Kristoff was about to go on another ice harvesting trip when Anna wanted to come with him. At first he refused but Anna kept pleading and dragged Elsa into it at some point. Eventually Kristoff said 'yes' and the three of them went up into the mountains. Once they found a frozen lake, Anna wanted to try cutting the ice. Kristoff begrudgingly handed her a pickaxe and stood back. Anna took a swing at the ice and cracked it. All the way across to both sides, literally splitting the lake. If it weren't for Elsa's quick re-freezing of the ice something bad could have happened. Anna apologized profusely, and Elsa at the time had to keep from laughing at the sight of a flustered Anna and a stupefied Kristoff.

"And she always looks after people," Kristoff continued. "She makes sure everybody is happy because that gives her happiness, which she then spreads that around to everybody again. I love that about her. I-I love _her_. I-I can't really describe it, but I fall for her every time I'm around her. She's just- she's just Anna." He finished, waiting for Elsa to say something.

She didn't, so he waited.

And waited.

And waited.

He was about to take back everything he said and drop the matter if she would stop staring at him with those icy blue eyes when Elsa said one word, "Yes."

Kristoff blinked. "Yes?" He questioned.

"Yes, I give you my blessing." Elsa said, finally breaking out into a brilliant smile. _I had way too much fun with all that, _she thought. "Honestly Kristoff, we've known each other for three years and I can see the way you care about my sister, the same way she cares about you. I'm not blind and I have been watching you carefully. I was worried for a while because of your gruffness when we first met, but that faded away quickly once you got to know us better, and us you. I could see that you wanted to know Anna better, but were hesitant to rush things, which I think we all appreciated." Elsa said her smile faltering slightly at the memories.

Kristoff nodded. "I wanted to be there for Anna, but I didn't want to be too fast like that idiot from the Southern Isles. I wanted it to be enough time for her to actually get to know me and get over that guy."

"I thank you for your sensitivity. It does mean a lot to both of us, even if Anna didn't realize it."

"She probably did," Kristoff said with a smirk, "but chose to ignore it."

Elsa smiled again, "Probably. But in any case, you have my full respect and blessing to marry my sister."

Kristoff looked like he was trying to swallow something and his eyes started getting wet. "Thank you Elsa!" He then rushed forward and grabbed her in a hug. Elsa stiffened for half of a second before relaxing and let Kristoff have his hug.

"Oh, but I should tell you something Kristoff." She said.

"What is it?"

Elsa's smile turned evil, "If you hurt her in any way, I'll make you a permanent tenant in my ice statue garden."

Kristoff's eyes widened and he nodded furiously, "I understand! I never would hurt her!"

Elsa's smile then returned to its warmth, "Good." _I think that's the first time I've made anybody_ sweat.

Pabbie chose that moment to return, holding three necklaces with a flat round stones on the center of each of them. Each of these stones had the same sort of rune on it. _Obviously magical,_ Elsa thought.

"Here, I think that these might be useful in France." He said, handing the necklaces over to the two of them.

"What are they?" Kristoff asked.

"These are translation amulets. They'll help you be able to understand any language and be understood as long as you wish it, whether it be written or spoken as long as you wear them."

Kristoff and Elsa's eyes widened in surprise at this. "Well that's incredibly helpful." Elsa muttered.

"Saves us the trouble of trying to muddle our way through the language, that's for sure." Kristoff said. "Thank you."

"You are most welcome. Now Kristoff, I believe Bulda wanted to give you your fire crystal engagement stones you asked for. Why don't you go find her?"

Elsa raised an eyebrow at Kristoff. "Fire crystal stones?"

Kristoff grinned sheepishly, "I was thinking of taking them with me to Paris and getting rings made for them so I could propose to her there."

"And when did you get this idea?"

"About a month after Anna told us about the opera house." Kristoff said.

"Ah. Well, anyway, why don't you get those stones then?"

He nodded, "I'll be right back," and then went off in the direction of the troll huts.

Elsa looked after him for a moment before turning to Pabbie. "Now what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?" She caught the subtle hint at sending Kristoff away so they could talk privately.

"It may be nothing," the troll said, "but when you said that you would be visiting an opera house in Paris I was reminded of a short vision, one that I've been seeing every once in a while."

"What of?" Elsa said frowning. _I hope what he says doesn't have to make us cancel our trip. If there were a danger then that would throw Anna off even more, not to mention the rest of us. I wouldn't risk it. _

"It's not what you may think Elsa. You can still go to Paris worry free. But this opera house, when you mentioned it, I felt an absence, a void if you like, but also filled with potential. And pain, similar to yours before you reconsolidated with Anna."

Elsa's frown deepened. "What does that mean?"

"I don't know, I've only felt something before when it was with you. There was only one other thing I saw. It was a face; half of it was the purest white and I could sense it was hiding the darkest shadow beneath."

Elsa was now truly concerned. But before she could say anything about it, Pabbie spoke again. "However, I can say with certainty that nobody you know will be in any harm from this. I only felt that it would be prudent to tell you this knowledge beforehand."

Elsa let everything sink in for a moment before she spoke. "I- Thank you for telling me this. Are you sure that nothing will harm Anna and Kristoff?"

The troll frowned. "The future is always in motion and it is hard to see anything clearly, but this I am certain of; all of you will return to Arendelle safe and unhurt."

Elsa breathed out in relief. "That's all I wanted to hear."

Pabbie smiled, "This is good for you Elsa. All of you need to get out of Arendelle for a while to get a breath of fresh air so to speak."

Elsa gave him a smile. "I wasn't entirely thrilled with the idea of going at first, but Anna is persuasive."

Pabbie chuckled, "She looks out for you Elsa, no matter what."

"I know." Elsa said. There wasn't much that could be said after that so the two just waited for Kristoff to get back.

Shortly thereafter, Kristoff came back holding two glowing red stones in his hand. "Take good care of those Kristoff," Pabbie said, "they're special and destined for you and Anna."

"I will." He said truthfully.

Pabbie turned to Elsa, "Farewell your majesty and best wishes on your journey."

"Thank you for your advice and the amulets." Elsa said.

Pabbie seemed to have another thought. "One last thing: you might want to check the top left corners of mirrors if you feel something odd about them."

"O…kay?"

Pabbie shrugged, "I don't know either. Just a thought."

_Oh well. _

"See you all in a month or so!" Kristoff shouted to the rest of the trolls and they all gave their various goodbyes as the two walked away.

Elsa looked down at her hand holding the amulet, deep in thought. _What's going to happen in Paris? Once again, Pabbie's being vague but he did say that we would be unharmed, unlike last time… Anyway, things turned out great so far; Kristoff got my blessing and the ring stones, and I got some advice, and we all got the amulets. _

That last thought gave Elsa pause. _Anna's going to have a fit when she learns about these amulets._

* * *

"Translation Amulets?! _Really?_ Couldn't have asked the trolls sooner then, huh?"

An hour later and Elsa's prediction came true.

"Spent two months, _two months_, trying to learn French _only_ to find out we didn't need to? Oh that's just great!" Anna was currently pacing back in forth in front of Elsa in the library, spewing out similar like complaints at this new development. Elsa was just sitting back waiting for Anna's bout to clear up. She found out through experience that Anna would return to her cheerful self after she blew off some steam.

"And the same day you tortured me for hours trying to get me to learn French too! Were you three planning something on me? Some crazy conspiracy joke thing that predated when I wanted to go to Paris? For a prank? Translation Amulets! Come on! Really?" Anna flopped into a chair in a huff and crossed her arms trying to look angry at the offensive accessory on the coffee table in front of her.

Elsa glanced up at the clock next to the wall. _Ten and a half minutes, she must be really upset, _she mused to herself.

"So how do they work?"

_Aaaand she's back_. Elsa returned her attention to her younger sister. "From what Pabbie told us, you wear it and you just will yourself to be able to understand and speak a language you want. "

"Really?" Anna's eyes lit up at this, clearly interested. She grabbed one and said, "All right, start talking to me in French and I'll put this on halfway through."

Elsa quirked an eyebrow at Anna but agreed to humor Anna.

* * *

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

* * *

Anna looked at Elsa as she started talking, waiting for the right moment to put the amulet on.

"Anna, il semble que vous ne l'avez pas mis sur," Anna put on the amulet, "your amulet yet, and now you have. I'm still talking in French if you're wondering," Anna took of the amulet, "sur quelle langue je parle pour le moment. Est-ce suffisant? Is that enough?" Elsa stopped talking in French for that last bit. "Did it work?"

"Yes! Oh, now I should try it!" Anna slipped the amulet necklace over her head again. _Okay, now what language _doesn't_ Elsa know? Ooh, how about Russian?_ "Hey Elsa, I'm talking in Russian right… now? Huh? It feels like I'm talking normal but my mouth is doing weird things." Anna stopped when Elsa started giggling. "What is it Elsa?"

"You. You're speaking Russian and you have no idea how too."

Anna groaned. _Of _course _she would know Russian. Figures. Okay, how about…_ "Hey, Dutch then? I betcha' can't understand me now! Ha! Score one for Anna!"

"Not quite yet Anna, still even." Elsa said with a smirk on her face.

"No? Uhh… Not Swedish because that's right next-door. German? But Rapunzel lives there so she would know that. Already covered French, so…" Right then, Elsa was struggling to hold in her giggles. "What?"

Elsa moved her hand away from her mouth, showing her laughing face. "You were thinking out loud, but you switched languages every time you thought about another language."

"Grrr, I'll get you eventually. Spanish! How about that?"

"Getting better."

"Humph. Uhhh… Chinese, that's one that you shouldn't know. Ha! I was right!" Anna celebrated when she saw the confused look on Elsa's face. "Ha ha! I win! I win!"

Elsa rolled her eyes at her and slipped the amulet over her head. "Oh calm down Anna. At least we know they work now."

"Spoil-sport." Anna said, but immediately jumped back. "This is going to be so cool! We can talk and understand any language we want! This is even better than a passport!"

Anna saw Elsa smile, "Indeed, it will help when you rattle on. At least you'll be understood." Elsa ducked, laughing, as Anna threw a couch pillow at her.

"Stinker."

"You have no idea." Elsa said mischievously.

Anna was the one to roll her eyes this time. "Alright you stinker, lets go have dinner. We've wasted enough time as it is."

"Wasn't it you that wanted to do this in the first place?" Elsa asked pointedly.

"Shut up and lets go stuff our mouths with chocolate."

Elsa's eyes narrowed. "You mean _my_ chocolate."

"You were the one that offered it."

"As a bribe to learn French, which you don't need to know now," Elsa's voice mirrored her own discovery, "so that voids the deal then, so I can have my chocolate again!"

Anna's shock was palpable. _Oh no, I can't lose the chocolate! Think Anna, think!_ "Uhh, you know that you offered it so I would learn for another hour then, right? Well we did, so the deal still stands and you have to pay up." _Smooth thinking Anna._

Anna could see the faint hope Elsa had of keeping her chocolate fade as she remembered the exact wording of the deal, or bribe, whichever one. Elsa slouched in her chair, for once leaving the unconscious 'queenly posture' that was ingrained in her and groaned, also in an unqueenly manner. "Noo_ooo_…" Elsa mumbled in despair.

"Hey, you asked for it." Anna shrugged.

"Because you were being stubborn," Elsa said, sitting upright again.

"Yea, well, I'm being stubborn now and getting us to dinner. Let's go." Anna pushed herself off the chair and dragged Elsa along with her, or at least for a while until Elsa got to her feet and followed Anna to the dinning hall.

As was almost expected, Kristoff was waiting for them. Anna smiled seeing the ice harvester there and ran over to him, giving him a hug. "Hey there Kristoff. How's it going?" _How's it going?_ How's it going? _Really, that's all you can say Anna?_ She winced internally, but kept up the façade that she wanted to know.

Kristoff gave her a warm smile and kissed her on the forehead. _Woah, he's being affectionate. I mean, not that I don't mind, but_ Elsa's _nearby and he knows that she's overly protective of me. _

However nothing happened. Elsa continued walking past them without sparing them a glance and Kristoff responded. "Oh the usual good way it's been going. Turns out the translation amulets don't understand reindeer if Sven's reaction was any proof."

Anna laughed at Kristoff's comment and she swore she heard a chuckle from Elsa too. "I think it's just supposed to be _human_ speech and writing." _God. Translation Amulets. Really? Couldn't have let us known any time sooner?_ Anna was still going on about that in her mind.

"Ah, well, had to try." Kristoff said as he moved away and pulled out Anna's chair for her. Anna gave him a pleased smile and sat down, letting Kristoff push her in. Then he took the seat across from her and for a moment, Anna got lost in his eyes. Somewhere she registered that the same thing happened to him as well.

Then of course Elsa gave a polite cough and both of them jumped a little. Before anything else could happen, a couple of servants delivered their dinner to them.

Dinner was a simple affair. Their plans had been discussed and re-discussed and dissected and put back together again to be discussed once more. There really wasn't much left to say on that front as it had been said already. Everything was in place, all they needed to do was wake up tomorrow, say their remaining farewells and leave. If everything went well it would be six days travel on ship to the French city Le Havre. There they would then get a train directly to Paris from there, where then a suitable place to stay for the duration of the trip would be found. They would stay for at most a month but with a little room to finesse some more time into their stay.

The only thing that was disagreeable for the sisters was being out at sea for six days, but it was totally understandable. However they eventually gave in, knowing it was the best way to get directly to France. They weren't exactly happy about it, but what could be done?

There was some light conversation but nothing too much; more along the lines of what they could see and who they could meet. Anna went so far as to say they could meet the king of France until Elsa told her that the country no longer was a monarchy, though they still held titles of prestige such as Count and Baron. History lesson aside, they were all eager to go, and Anna could tell even Elsa was, although she hid it better than she did.

By the time dinner was done, three plates of desserts were brought out. "Ah-ah-ah!" Anna said as Elsa started to put a chocolate in her mouth, "you promised me a third of your chocolate remember."

Elsa groaned, "Don't remind me of that mistake."

"Well?" Anna said, her hand outstretched.

Elsa's face formed into one of practiced indifference as she started putting pieces of chocolate on a plate, then after she was done, handed the plate over to Anna.

Anna had a big grin on her face, "Thank you!" Elsa just rolled her eyes and started eating her dessert. Anna looked down at her two plates and frowned, "What's this?"

"What's what Anna?" Elsa asked innocently.

"This!" Anna said, pointing to the plate Elsa handed her. "All these are tiny pieces."

"Well you did say a third of the chocolate, and I gave you it."

"This isn't a third! They're all the small pieces." It was true, Elsa's main plate had a dearth of the smaller chocolate, now only large and medium sized pieces.

"True, but I did give you a third of the chocolate _pieces_. It's coincidental that a third just happened to be equivalent to all the small chocolates."

Anna knew that she just been had. "You're a real stinker, you know that right?" Anna said.

Elsa raised her wine glass in mock salute, "All's fair in love and chocolate."

Nobody could keep a straight face for the rest of the night.

* * *

The next day came swiftly. Anna woke up much earlier than she normally would have, even on the day of her sister's coronation. She was still a sleepy mess, but that got cleared up in a few minutes. After taming her massive bed hair and using a towel to wipe off her sleep drool, Anna got dressed and did a last minute check of her room to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything. She had two trunks, both moderately sized; one was for her clothes, which consisted of three traveling dresses, a few shoes and boots, various gloves and other accessories, and one ball gown, her green one.

The other trunk was less full than the other one, but that was because Anna was planning to bring back some memorabilias of their trip. Not to say that the trunk was empty; there were a few odds-and-ends inside, such as a moneybag, but mostly it was open space.

Anna knew that Elsa had even more clothes, but, as due to her being queen, they were more elegant. However, as Anna noted when she was snooping through her sister's trunk, there was a lack of gloves and one particular dress that Anna thought would have been making an appearance. However, Anna reasoned that the rest of the world wasn't ready for Elsa's powers just yet, even after three years, so it was excusable.

Her last check complete, she grabbed her trunks and started to carry them out the castle.

Or tried to anyway. The first one was too heavy for her and after a few attempts Anna rolled her eyes and stopped trying. _I guess I'll need help to take this one down. Ooh, I wonder if Kristoff is around. Those nice strong, big, tasty, luscious muscles should help out a- wait_, tasty?_ Luscious? _Anna's eyes widened at her own internal one-sided conversation. _Did I really just think that? No I couldn't possibl- okay yea I did. So what? They are. And his face with those milk chocolate brown eyes- wait, focus Anna. Go over to his room and ask for his help. He probably doesn't have much anyway. No, wait, I take that back. There was that shopping trip a week ago where we got him better clothes for formal… uhh, what's the word? Parties? No, that's not it. Oh well, anyway go and ask. Occasions, that's the word!_

With her internal conversation with herself over, Anna went out of her room and went down the hall and the stairs to the lower level. Although Kristoff was practically considered family, he was still unfortunately only an Ice Harvester, albeit the Master one. Therefore he needed to stay in one of the guest rooms the castle had. Fortunately, there were only a few instances when he needed to find a pub to sleep at when foreign guests were invited into the castle, usually when there was a big event in Arendelle with a large influx of guests. And that was infrequent because he conveniently needed to go out ice harvesting for some of those days.

And it totally wasn't because of the thought of sitting with stuffy old dignitaries that Anna usually went with him.

Anna arrived at his room and knocked at his door. "Kristoff?" She called out.

A muffled _"Yea?"_ came from inside.

"Can I have your help for a minute please?"

_"Yea, sure, one moment."_ The sound of footsteps came from the other side of the door and it soon opened.

The sight took Anna's breath away from a moment before a blush came across her face. Kristoff wasn't wearing a shirt and she could see every inch of his chiseled abs and bulging biceps. In fact, everything that was muscle was bulging, except for his… umm…

Anna's blush intensified at the thought.

"Whoa." That was all she could say. She hadn't really seen Kristoff shirtless before and she could truthfully say that she liked what she saw. _Definitely tasty._

Kristoff raised an eyebrow and playfully said, "Did you call me out here just for the eye candy or was there something else?"

Anna's eyes widened as she realized that she was staring and coughed a couple of times. "I-uhh-ablug-uhh…" Anna couldn't make a sentence so Kristoff rolled his eyes and went back inside. He came out wearing a medium green shirt with gold and red Rosemåling patterns. As he did so, Anna was slightly disappointed but at least now she could think straight. "I would like your help to carry my trunks please," she said slowly and clearly, still trying to rewire her brain.

Kristoff smirked. "My pleasure My Lady," he added in a slight bow then started for Anna's room, with her trailing behind after a second.

* * *

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

* * *

The short walk was in silence. Kristoff was highly amused at Anna's reaction to him being shirtless and her subsequent tongue–tiedness. _Of course, I probably would be speechless if I saw her topless- ack! No not right now Kristoff, one step at a time. You need to propose to her first. Actually before that you need to get the rings made, and before _that_ we need to get to Paris before all else._

Kristoff pushed open the door to Anna's room and saw the two trunks there, one of which was skewed slightly. "I suppose you want me to carry this one?" He said teasingly as he deliberately picked up the lighter trunk.

"Of course _not_." Anna said, "the other one."

Kristoff grinning picked up the other trunk by himself and gasped. "Jeez Anna, what do you have in here?"

"Just this and that," Anna said, nonchalantly.

_Of course it's more than that, _but whatever. Kristoff rolled his eyes but didn't comment. He started carrying the trunk out of the room while Anna started carrying the lighter one. Just because she was a woman didn't mean she was weak. Far from it. Kristoff had seen her practicing her sword fighting with some of the guards and was able to hold her own and then some against at least four of them. So, calling her weak was an insult. _How about the trunk is heavier than she could carry and leave it at that? _

As they carried the trunks through the castle, one of the servants told Anna that Queen Elsa was getting ready as well and should be expected to be on the ship in roughly half an hour. Anna nodded and they continued on. Anna needed to be the door girl in this case because Kristoff couldn't very well put down the trunk every time they hit a door. They managed although the stairs were a bit of a problem.

Out on the docks there was a crowd gathering. Ever since preparations had started word had somehow gotten out to the citizens of Arendelle and they wanted to see their Queen and Princess off. A few who knew him also wanted to wish Kristoff well in addition to them, since almost everybody (there had to be at least one person who didn't) knew that Anna and Kristoff were an unofficial/official couple. Unofficial as in they haven't announced it yet, official in that everybody knew that they were.

Once the two were in sight the crowd started cheering for them. Anna just put on a smiling face that Kristoff could tell was genuine. For him however, he just had a sheepish embarrassed smile. _I'm not used to crowds. Or rather, crowds paying attention to me. I'm still just a simple ice harvester at heart. Even if Anna agrees to marry me for some unknown reason, I'll still be an ice harvester. _

They managed to get through the crowd without much difficulty, though the gangplank was a bit tricky. They handed the trunks off to some sailors to store in their rooms, which Kristoff noted that it took two of them to carry the trunk he was carrying. He then promptly went back to his room and grabbed his single trunk and brought it to the ship as well.

Apparently he missed Elsa at some point because she was already there waiting for him. She was facing Anna and talking to her, and it looked like Anna was on the defensive this time. He caught the last bit of their conversation. "And you made him carry your trunks?" Elsa said.

"It was only one. And besides he's back on time." Anna said as Kristoff went up the gangplank. "Hey!" She greeted.

"Did I miss anything?" He asked playfully.

"Nope! C'mon, let's bring that down to your room- no quarters, that's it. Let's go!" Anna restrained herself from dragging him to the stern of the ship to the three quarters that were set-aside for them.

* * *

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

* * *

A few minutes later they rejoined Elsa on deck as the captain made ready to set sail. The ship they were on was named _A.R.S. Blizzard_, A.R.S. standing for Arendelle's Royal Ship. An early name for the ship was to be the _Eternal Winter_, but Elsa disagreed, saying she didn't want other countries to feel threatened or to bring up bad memories. The next name suggested was _Eternal Blizzard_ but it got shortened to _Blizzard_ instead. The ship itself was half sail and half steam powered, a hybrid of the old and new. While Arendelle was still firmly entrenched in the past, it was gradually moving along with technology.

"Weigh anchor! Hoist sails!" The captain shouted and the crew responded. The sails dropped and the cranking sound of the anchor being pulled up echoed through the deck.

"Well, last chance to back out." Elsa said to Anna and Kristoff who had just stepped up next to her.

"Nuh-uh. No way. Not going to happen." Anna shook her head. "We've spent too long here. We need to get out and see the world!"

"Just remember to be careful, I don't want to see you get hurt. Both of you." Elsa amended for Kristoff.

The man in question smiled, "I can take care of myself, thank you. Ice harvesting, operas, how hard can it be?"

_Quite,_ Elsa thought, but kept that to herself.

The ship started moving forward and they all moved to a better stance to accommodate for the rocking of the ship. They all waved goodbye to the people who were still watching on the docks and received a cheer in response.

"Wow, they must really like you." Anna said.

"They like _all_ of us." Elsa corrected.

They waved back until they passed the outer sea walls then focused on the widening sea. "Six days, then we'll be in Le Havre, then to Paris!" Anna exclaimed.

"This'll certainly be an interesting voyage." Kristoff said.

"Agreed." Elsa concurred.

* * *

Day 1

Hours after leaving Arendelle, Anna got tired of watching the land get smaller and smaller, then finally watching the ocean spray as the shore disappeared. She wandered around the deck, sailor watching.

_Some of them have pretty good muscles, _Anna thought privately, _but not as big as Kristoff's…_

_Why do I keep thinking about him like that? Sure he's handsome but-wait, did I just use…? Okay yea I did. What's going on with my brain? Do I…? Maybe? Yes? No? Somewhere in that zone? Oh come on Anna, I'm twenty-one yet I'm acting like I'm still sixteen. Of course I can just hear Elsa now, 'I don't think you've changed since then.' Ughhhhh. _

_Hey, speaking of which, where_ is _Elsa? I haven't seen her in a while._ Anna got up from the barrel she was sitting on and went up to the, _okay act mature Anna_, poop deck, to get a better view. Once there, she found only the helmsman, no sign of Elsa. Anna then went below deck and found Elsa in her quarters at her desk, reading of all things.

"Elsa… you're reading? Now?"

Elsa shrugged, "There's nothing better to do right now."

Anna paused, thought about it, and shrugged right back. "Okay."

Well there really wasn't.

* * *

Day 2

Anna had found something to do. She started hanging out with the crew and found out that they liked to gamble. Dice, cards, and other games that Anna didn't know about. However she soon found out that the sailors liked to play right before they went to sleep, so Anna joined them the second night. At first they scoffed at a woman playing, then at the princess playing.

Then Anna took their money.

Somehow, contrary to some thought processes, Anna was extremely good at a card game called Poker. When pushed, she could keep a straight face. She lost the first game, and barely the second, but then won the next three and ended up with a sizable pile of coins in front of her. She thanked them and divided her winnings evenly among those who played; she was a princess and didn't really need the money anyway.

After leaving, she was on deck and saw a familiar flash of pale blond next to the railing. As Anna went over to her sister, she saw that Elsa was swaying a bit, and not in time with the ship.

"Hey Elsa, are you all right?" Anna asked.

"Oh, hey Anna," Elsa said, "Yes I'm fine. I've just been reading for too long and needed some fresh air."

"Oh, Okay?" Anna finished with a question. There were days that Elsa barricaded herself in the library to read and wouldn't surface for days. But hey, if Elsa said she needed some air, well, who was Anna to argue?

Anna went back to her quarters to fall asleep, but not before hearing Elsa coming down afterwards into her own quarters.

Apparently Elsa _can_ stumble.

* * *

Day 3

_"Kristoff, I think there's something wrong with Elsa." _

_"Ya' think? And why are we whispering anyway?" _

_"Shush, she might hear us." _

_"I think she might be a little preoccupied to pay any attention to us." _

_"Huh? Why's that?" _

_"Well if you haven't noticed, Elsa's gripping the railing like it's keeping her alive right now. See how pale her hands are?" _

_"Kristoff, they're always pale." _

_"Well, they're more than usual." _

_"I'm going to talk to her." _

_"Okay." _

_"What, no trying to talk me out of it?" _

_"Why should I? It's your sister." _

_"Oh, yea, you're right."_

_"Besides, if anything happens it'll be on you." _

_"What's _that_ supposed to mean?"_

_~"Nothing."~_

_"Hmph, fine, I'm going." _

_"Good luck." _

Anna got up from behind the banister where she drug Kristoff behind to spy-_observe_ on Elsa and moved over to her.

"Heyyyyyy Elsa, how ya feelin'?" Anna said, uber-casually. In other words, blatantly obvious.

"Hey Anna. I'Mmm fine," Elsa slurred.

"Uhh, you don't look fine." Anna said worriedly. Now that she was up close, Elsa was looking paler than normal. In fact… "You're looking downright green."

"Hmmm." Elsa hummed, keeping her mouth shut tightly. She grimaced and blanched even more.

"Whoa, now you really don't look good." Anna commented.

Elsa didn't respond. She just leaned over the railing and vomited directly into the ocean.

"Yah! Oh geez! Elsa!" Anna yelped.

"Ughhhhh…" Elsa groaned.

"Hey come on, let's get you inside your cabin." Anna tried, but Elsa was not done yet and Anna backtracked quickly to avoid another spew from Elsa. "Ugh. That's disgusting."

Elsa turned around and glared at Anna with slightly bloodshot eyes. _Those are the same eyes from when I stole her chocolate!_ "I mean, uhh, that's fine, that's perfectly fine. Uh, just keep chucking away. I'll uh, be, uh, over… there. If you need me. Bye!" Anna made a hasty retreat before anything bad could happen to her.

She went back to where Kristoff was and he was leaning against the wood wall. "Not good?"

Anna shook her head. "Not good." She said, and leaned against Kristoff tiredly.

"I guess Elsa has a weak stomach."

"What? No, she could eat Lutefisk. I don't think even you could eat that." Both of them suppressed their bile at the thought.

"So… should we help her?"

Another wet disgusting sound was heard in Elsa's general direction.

"Lets… wait a bit, see what happens." Anna said.

From next to the railing came Elsa's cry of, "I hate ships!"

* * *

Day 4

"So how is she?" Anna asked the ship's physician.

The man stood up from where he was kneeling next to Elsa's bunk and said, "All things considered, Her Majesty's fine. It's a little more intense than I've seen, but I can chalk that up to her being kept inside for most of her life. She's not as exposed to the outside as, well, you have, your highness."

Anna nodded solemnly, well aware of that fact. "So what can we do right now?"

"Now? Now we can only plow through this. I can give her some medicine to make her sleep easier at nights, and have the cooks make some stew, but that's all I'm willing to do. Make sure she's getting enough to eat and have somebody clean out her bucket periodically."

Kristoff nodded, "I'll make sure of that."

Anna sighed. "All right." They all winced when Elsa lurched over the side of the bed and threw up into the afore mentioned bucket.

"I really hate ships," Elsa murmured weakly from her bed.

* * *

Day 5

"So how's Her Majesty?" One crewman asked.

Anna grimaced, "Not good. She keeps emptying her stomach regularly. The only time she's quiet is when she's asleep. Raise two." Coins clinked on the table.

More coins clinked as the rest of the sailors pitched in. "Honestly though, how do you guys manage it? You can spend weeks on a ship and yet none of you get sick."

"That's easy for you to say, your highness. I think I speak for everyone when I say that we weren't as hardened as we are now. We've all spent at least one day hanging over the railing at some point in our lives. Raise three." Coins rolled again.

"Speak for yourself," another man said, "I've never done that. Now, to get your sea-legs, that's a different story. Walking off that gangplank after those weeks will make you clutch the ground for your life. Wouldn't be able to walk straight for a day. Raise two." Coins again.

"Aye, tha's true. I'm surprised ya haven't gone the way of her Majesty yet."

"I've had experience with boats before." Anna said, "Small dinghy's, nothing like the _Blizzard_ though. It's much smoother than those little things. You going to do something or fold?"

The man in question looked at his cards, then said, "Nah, I'm out. Enjoy." There was a collective grumbling around the table. Sailors were starting to fear for their pay whenever Anna joined a game. The only one who stood a chance was…

"Hey Kristoff, same thing." The ice harvester turned Poker player looked up from his cards at the sound of her voice.

"Eh? Oh, uhh, raise four." He said and dropped the coins on the table.

The man next to him threw his hands up in the air, "Nuh uh, I like my money. At least with her highness playing I'll see some of it back. I fold."

"So it's just you and me feisty-pants." Kristoff said with a sly smile.

Anna glanced at her cards then back into Kristoff's chocolate colored eyes. "You're bluffing. I call."

Kristoff rolled his eyes, "If you insist." He laid out his cards: four of a kind.

Anna had a feral grin on her face. "I do." She revealed her hand, a Straight Flush.

"And she does it again. What's that, fourteen games in a row?"

Anna scooped up the money and began dividing it into four equal piles. "Yep, it's great playing with you guys."

"Tell that to my pockets," one of them moaned.

"If this keeps up, we'll be broke by the time we reach Le Havre."

"Oh cheer up," Anna said, "at least I'm giving some of the money back."

* * *

Day 6

"Last day. The last day. The last day." That had been Elsa's new mantra since she woke up, only broken by periodic instances of her stomach violently disagreeing with her, and Anna and the doctor's check-ups.

"I certainly hope so," Anna muttered to herself as she closed the door behind her, walking out on top. "I don't know how much more she can take," Anna said to Kristoff as she leaned against him.

Kristoff wrapped an arm around her and said, "Well, the train should be much smoother than a boat so Elsa should be fine."

"For all our sakes, it better be."

They were close enough to the coast that they were seeing signs of life among the waves. Many more birds were wading through the sea and they had passed the occasional fishing boat. Le Havre was close and soon enough they saw the city come over the horizon, like Atlantis rising from the depths of the ocean.

They came closer and began to pick out individual buildings and people, some looking on in mild curiosity as to the flag the _Blizzard _displayed. While Arendelle was technically part of Norway, certain treaties signed in the past practically made Arendelle it's own country, only _aligned_ with Norway, hence why Elsa was able to take the throne. This was the case with many other 'countries' such as Weaseltown (unfortunately) and the Southern Isles (still debatable). These three are big players in Norwegian politics and influence. However, in recent years, Arendelle was making a comeback from those 'closed-gate' years and its influence had started to grow, beginning with Elsa's coronation.

The political ramifications of Elsa's powers were enormous, and some for the wrong reasons. Mostly it was because she suddenly had a new power that some sought to exploit. There were a few that wanted peace and alliance with Arendelle just for that reason, that Elsa could, on a proverbial whim, freeze their country or land. Not that it would happen per se, but it did make it easier to get treaties signed.

Out of Norway however, among the general populace, Arendelle was an unknown and the yellow crocus on a purple and green background, a mystery, and the rumors of a Snow Queen just that. So when the ship docked there wasn't a crowd of eager people to catch a glimpse of the Queen, or an equally eager mob with torches and pitchforks (sorta cliché, but you get the idea).

The _Blizzard_ docked and the crew started to go about their business. Anna knew she had the hardest job: getting her sister up and walking. Now that the ship had docked though, it wasn't rocking around as much and should be easier for Elsa. Anna went to where her sister was and found her passed ou-_asleep_, on her bed.

"Hey Elsa? We've docked," Anna said softly.

"Hmmm?" Came Elsa's weak groan.

"Yea, we've landed in Le Havre, so… if you want to see the town before we leave tomorrow… just thought I'd let you know. I'll grab your passport papers then." When Anna received another groan in response, she quietly found them and slipped out.

"So how is she?" Kristoff asked when Anna rejoined him on deck.

"Pretty bad, I only wish there was something we could do for her."

"Well, how about we find the train station and get those tickets to Paris, then bring Elsa a good meal. Now that we've docked she should be able to keep it in now."

"I hope so." Anna said, the shrugged, "C'mon, let's go!" She grabbed Kristoff's arm and started leading him down the gangplank. They both wobbled a bit as they got used to being on dry land again before they started heading off again.

"Hey, do you know where the train station is anyway?"

Anna stopped suddenly, "Uhh, no. I don't. Well, we can always ask!" She looked around for a moment before spying a viable candidate. She walked over to a finely dressed man and asked, "Excuse me? Do you know where the train station is?"

"Je suis désolé, je ne vous comprends pas." The man said.

_Oh right, French. Translation Amulet power go!_ "Sorry, do you know where the train station is?" Anna knew that it was working because her mouth was making unfamiliar shapes without her really paying attention to it.

"Oh, the station is towards the western side of town. Just go down this way and keep going until you see it, you won't miss it," The man said, pointing in a direction, finally understood and understanding.

"Thank you!" Anna said and went back to Kristoff, leaving the man to do whatever he was doing before. "Let's go!" Anna said.

"Huh?" Kristoff replied.

Anna rolled her eyes, "French. Translation Amulet. Hello?" She pulled out the amulet from her shirt and waved it around.

"Oh, right." Kristoff said and grinned sheepishly as he shifted the amulet around under his shirt.

"Let's go." Anna said.

* * *

True to the man's word, they reached the train station soon after. Anna went up to a ticket booth and said, "Uhh, excuse me?"

"May I help you Mademoiselle?" The ticket manager said.

"Can I get three tickets to Paris for tomorrow?" She asked.

"Sure; any luggage?"

Anna did a quick mental count, "Five trunks."

"May I see some identification?" Anna passed over Kristoff's, Elsa's and her own papers and the man examined them. "Ah, from Arendelle? Is it true then?"

Anna had a sneaking suspicion what the man was asking, "Is what true?"

"That the queen is a witch that can cause snow and ice to appear."

Anna bit back the remark that was at the tip of her tongue and instead said. "Oh no, the queen isn't a witch at all. Whoever told you that part is had the truth mixed up."

"Ah, I see." The man said, slightly disappointed.

"Nope, my sister is definitely not a witch, although she does have those snow and ice powers."

"But you just said…" The man stopped and looked down at the papers Anna gave him and shuffled through them. "Ah, my deepest and most sincere apologies my lady, I had no idea-"

"That's right, you didn't," Anna cut him off, "and you might remember in the future to make decisions after you hear all the facts first. Now can we get our tickets?" Anna said cooly.

"O-of course." The man hastily handed out three tickets, "The train starts boarding at 9:50 and will leave tomorrow at 10:15."

"Thank you." Anna said coldly as she took the tickets, then turned away without giving the man a second look.

Kristoff had a raised eyebrow. "Well, that was different." He commented.

"I don't like it when people call Elsa names that aren't true," Anna said. "It irritates me to no end."

"And that's why you're such a good sister." Kristoff said.

"Aww, thank you." Anna said, and nudged him playfully. "Now, lets find a good place to bring Elsa some food. What do you think she'll like?"

"Probably something easy on the stomach."

"Ah, right."

* * *

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* * *

**This chapter got out of hand and I decided to cut it short a bit. Honestly, it's only a thousand and a half words short of doubling the length of this story... blegh. Anyway, next chapter it'll pick up mostly where it left off, with a little bit in front first. It will certainly not be as long as this chapter, I can tell you that much... I hope...**

**Once again, as always R.R.F.F. (Read. Review. Favorite. Follow.)**

**I remain your humble writer;**

**-OG**


	5. Return to Glory

**Hello everyone! I have returned! After a long time, this is one of the stories on my big update day, where at least five stories will be updated, so if you like Heard as the Outcasts Hear, then go check out some of my other works! Also, check out _The Phantom of Arendelle_ by extremeenigma02! **

**I'm not going to offer excuses for why it took so long, so here's the chapter**

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**Edit:1/21/16**

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**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

* * *

_Paris: November 1875_

The months had gone by extremely well, all things considering. The new opera production was coming along nicely, both in music and on stage. Monsieur Barrett had gained the Phantom's grudging respect for his position as manager, which was helped slightly by making him look immensely better after the sheer incompetence of his predecessors. Barrett knew what he wanted and held _some_ artistic talent, enough to make the Phantom's 'accidents' few and far between. The level of professionalism however extended as far as the opera house did when the Phantom caught rumors of trouble in the homefront with the Missus. However, Barrett wasn't like the stagehand Murray (who couldn't keep his hands to himself) and kept himself at a high level of professionalism while on business. The Phantom found Barrett acceptable and decided after the third rehearsal he'd watched that he would not threaten Barrett as there was no need.

The same could not be said of Murray, whom the Phantom had a growing distaste for the pig. He had seen Murray continually harass the dancers, some liked it in some perverse way, some didn't, and he had to intervene a few times to protect some members of the female sex. He knew that some stagehands couldn't go a day sober, but it was somewhat astounding to find how much Murray drank each day. It was more than he did in his bad years. He had a thought that his blood was more alcohol than anything else and wondered if Murray would combust if lit on fire. If Murray kept acting the way he did, the Phantom would indulge himself in this hypothesis sooner rather than later.

Then again, he might blow up the opera house… again, so maybe not. It was tempting though.

Other than that and the normal opera house drama, there was not much that needed doing or help with. However there were a few surprise renovations that caught the Phantom unaware when he tried to get into one of his old paths around the opera house and found his way blocked by a new wall or opened up into a new corridor. With the occasional change here and there, the Phantom spent most of his time doing one of three things: cleaning his abode from years of neglect and abuse, getting himself physically fit from the same time of inactivity, or repairing and redoing his network of hidden paths and corridors throughout the opera house from either the fire or the renovations.

There was slight disappointment now as the Phantom looked downwards on the rehearsal stage from the rafters. Since _that_ night, the legacy of the Opera Ghost was mixed. He was no longer a ghost as the entire audience from _that_ night saw him, and he was now rationalized as 'just' a man. Then there was his… face, that they all saw which inspired fear, just like he knew it would, justifying all those years in isolation. Primal instinct guided that mob into his lair, ready to kill anything different than them. Rational thought was gone.

However, his legacy still stood. Granted, nobody was crying 'it's the ghost!' every single time something fell in the dark or something went wrong, but there was still an undercurrent of suspicion. There was no body found _that_ night but nothing had happened since then aside from a few minor accidents. The tone of the opera house was of careful optimism that the Phantom was gone for good.

In his lair, the place almost looked like new. Now with so much time on his hands, the Phantom had cleaned and replenished all of his supplies such as the scarce food and burned out candles. Almost everything was returned to its former glory.

Except his instruments.

He did keep them maintained and in tune so they didn't self-destruct when handled. His organ needed to have major repairs after those years of neglect, so he spent some time topside scavenging around for pieces that he could make into replaceable parts, and used his proxy P.O. address to get other parts delivered if he couldn't do it himself. It was somewhat refreshing to feel clean air touch his skin through his clothes again, but he only went out at night, when he was only another shadow in the darkness.

But other than that, the instruments remained untouched, unused aside from the occasional tuning that never progressed further than that when he felt the slight urge to play. He would do a few scales, chords, a simple melody. But when he ventured to try something beyond that, a flash of brown curly locks and those chocolate doe eyes that glittered in the light would go through his mind, and he would hear an echo of that angelic voice. Then he would loose all of the miniscule enthusiasm he had to play for weeks until the next time he dared pick up or play again.

Life had returned to mostly normal; that is, normal before _She_ caught his attention. The situation might not be the same, and the scale of good and bad changes had altered as well, but they balanced out in the end.

The major change was the Phantom's health. Madame Giry had gone down twice more to see if he was still alive and seemed pleased with herself after she drove him to the point of insanity with her questions and badgering. Not since she first rescued him from the gypsies had she cared for him as much as she did now. If he knew what the term meant, he would say that it was 'mothering'. However, he had nothing to base that thought from so he couldn't verify it at all.

Twice Giry had gone down and delivered a package for him, usually food that wasn't kept in the Opera Populaire. However, she kept all forms of alcohol away from him so he wouldn't be tempted to drink himself back into oblivion again. Not that the thought was tempting on some days, usually after she left, but he kept away from it as well, reminding himself that getting back into drinking would not be a wise decision. Not that it was in the first place, just unavoidable.

In addition to his food runs and general maintenance of his things and lair, he also got back into physical shape. His muscles, after years of menial work, had all but vanished, and it was hard labor to get them back into top form again. Push-ups, crunches, climbing ropes, and shadow fencing built up those muscles so now he was able to climb up the stage ropes with the same skill as before. It helped in that some muscle memory remained even after a few years to make it easier to re-learn.

Currently the Phantom had left his abode and was wandering the opera house, trying to keep his mind moving through menial things rather than let it sink back into the abyss again. Using his newly added knowledge of the opera house, he made his way to his destination. He waited for a couple of cleaning maids to move further down the hall before stepping out of the shadows he was hiding in and continue his prowl. He was going to go and spy on the ticket sales to see who exactly was coming to the upcoming opera. The past few days this had become his distraction.

It was interesting to see who could come up and who got where. The opening night was always full of upper class citizens who could afford to spend a little on indulgences such as a night at the opera. The hierarchy of society would be flocking to the opening night, and it was a who's who of people. Viscounts, Duchesses, and other people with titles meaning that they have money and you don't would come and mingle. Galas were as much a performance by the ballerinas and orchestra as it was a front for political and financial moves worked out for different people. If you were lucky or coordinated, then you could do great things here. Otherwise, it would just be an exquisite night out for a show.

The Phantom got to the point where he would disappear into the ceiling and started crawling on his hands and knees, quieter than a whisper. He made sure to avoid catching his clothes on any nails as he crept closer. The only minor concern he had was his cloak, which he kept close to his person to avoid such snags and tears.

There! He was directly above the ticket window and looking through a minute crack in the ceiling boards, he could see everything. There was a middle-aged man working there, or rather, waiting for work because he wasn't servicing anyone at the moment. The Phantom twisted his neck to look at the house board. The house board showed all the available seats and the non-available ones as well so people could choose which ones they wanted, or the ones they could afford in some cases.

For the upcoming gala, almost all of the seats were taken, and the boxes reserved for the ones higher up on the social pecking order. Then the balcony and front row seats, house left, right, center, upper ring and so on and so forth. _By its appearance, it seems that we have nearly a full house,_ the Phantom thought, somewhat pleased by the ticket sales_. Maybe Monsieur Barrett is finally going to turn the opera into something enjoyable instead of a business venture like those two oafs did_.

A few minutes later, the Phantom shifted from his laying down position, his mind elsewhere. _Why am I here? _He wondered. _There isn't anything I can get right now, and most of the seats are sold already. None of the nobility would wait this long to get their seats. The only other people that are going to show up are the ones that need a seat last minute. Nobody of real interest._

He stifled a small groan at the wasted time he spent. _Then again, I wouldn't be doing anything else worth doing today,_ he thought. Just as he was about to crawl away, his eyes caught movement at the window. _Apparently somebody wishes to buy some tickets last minute,_ he observed. Three people came up to the booth: two women and a man. The man was a heavily built person with blond hair who looked like he did a lot of physical work, much more so than the stagehands ever did. He was dressed in average clothes considering the company he was in. _Maybe a servant per chance? No, he's holding the hand of the younger woman. Obviously not then. Curious. _

The younger woman was wearing an assortment of various greens and beige colors in a moderate dress and… trousers underneath? _Strange. I haven't seen any woman wear trousers before save in operas._ She had red-orange hair that was in two pigtails on either side of her face, which gave her a youthful complexion. That wasn't the only thing that gave that appearance as she was bouncing slightly as she stood like an excited child.

The last woman, the oldest one of the group, was… different. The Phantom had given the other two a courtesy glance before focusing on her. She was… different than many he had seen. Maybe it was the pale blond hair she had, or the style of dress she sported with a different motif than he had seen before. She carried herself differently as well, and as he watched it seemed as if she was practically forcing herself to act more childish. Or was it something different?

His curiosity piqued, he remained there, waiting to see who exactly they were.

* * *

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* * *

Some time earlier…

* * *

_"Elsa, come on, we need to go!"_ Anna said from the other side of the door.

"Anna, I'm going as fast as I can." Elsa shouted weakly back at her sister.

"Well go faster, otherwise all the seats will be taken."

_We've been going fast,_ that's _the problem,_ Elsa thought. "Fine, I'm coming." Elsa said.

She thought she heard a _"finally"_ but ignored it and finished setting out her pack on her bed. She looked around her room and grabbed her rather full money purse before going out her door.

They had decided to go against getting a room in an expensive hotel, instead going for a moderate chain of hovels for temporary rent. Of course, moderate meant four-bedrooms, three bathrooms, a kitchen, dining room, living room, and entry hall, excluding all the other various cabinets and rooms.

It was the day after they arrived in Paris, after spending a night in Le Havre. The train ride almost went off without a hitch, Elsa suffering only a tiny bit of queasiness during the two and a half hour ride. After they arrived, they asked around for a place to stay, but along the way, Anna got sidetracked by the current houses they were currently tenanting. After working out a contract for a month and a half, they moved into Building Number 4 Lane de Voyageurs. Although Elsa knew that Kristoff was going to ask Anna to marry him, she still insisted on separate rooms for them.

The rest of the day was spent with Anna and Kristoff going out and getting some food to eat for their stay, and Elsa recovering from the harrowing journey. Elsa was a bit hesitant at letting Anna cook their meals, but she assured them that she spent a lot of time in the castle kitchen watching the cooks make and prepare their food. Elsa teased Anna saying that she was there only to sneak chocolate out, but Anna morosely corrected her, saying that she wanted to be the one to deliver her meals when she was stuck in her room. They all were silent for a moment before moving on to other things.

True to her word, Anna was a decent cook. Sure it wasn't up to their usual normal, but that was expected for all parties. They might just survive being together for their stay. After a good nights sleep, especially for Elsa, they planned to go over to the Opera Populaire around midday to get their tickets for seats.

Elsa stepped out of her room and was assaulted by a hyper redhead. "C'mon, we're going to miss all the seats!" Anna said.

"Slow down there feisty-pants," Kristoff said behind her with a smile, "Give your sister some room to breathe."

Anna of course didn't listen. "Let's go get a carriage and go to the opera!" She grabbed Elsa's hand, then Kristoff's and drug them out of the house and onto the street. They found a cab driver and after giving him eight Francs, that Elsa paid for, they were on their way.

It was a good ten minutes later that they pulled in front of the Opera Populaire. Elsa took a good look at the opera house. The outside definitely looked new, with fresh paint and newly carved stone. The gold decorations, which Elsa suspected was just gold leaf, looked pretty impressive. "Whoa," Anna said, "definitely don't have anything like this back in Arendelle."

Elsa laughed and said, "Let's go find the ticket booth." They made their way to the side of the opera house and found the booth. Thankfully nobody was in line so they just walked right on up. Elsa was first so she would be the one talking.

"Good day Madame, how may I help you?" The man said, proving once again that the amulets were working.

"Good day Monsieur, I would like to… purchase three tickets for the upcoming opera," Elsa said, pausing for a moment as a strange feeling came over her. It was as if someone was… watching them. She discreetly looked around them, but there was nobody near enough.

"Uh, let's see," the man turned around and looked at the seating chart. After a moment, he turned around and said, "I'm sorry, but I'm assuming that you don't want three separate seats throughout the house, oui?" Strange thing about the amulets, they translate most of what a person's saying, but every once in a while, a word or two slips in.

Anna spoke up, "So, there's no seats right next to each other?"

"Unfortunately."

Elsa was too distracted to be completely worried about this news. That feeling of being watched was growing stronger and was more persistent. It was as if someone was analyzing her. She looked around again, but saw nobody looking at them.

"What about box five then?" Kristoff's voice brought her back to reality. "Nobody's sitting there, and I'm pretty sure we can afford a box, right?" He asked and Anna nodded.

"Oh yea, definitely, we'd like box five please," Anna said.

Elsa looked at the man who suddenly looked nervous. _Curious. Why is he nervous about us wanting box five? _

"B-box five?" The man stuttered. "You- you want box five?"

"Is that a problem?" Elsa said coolly.

The man gave her an odd stare and after a moment said, "You're not from Paris aren't you?"

"No, Arendelle in fact, Norway." Anna supplied.

The man shook his head. "If you knew the story about that box you wouldn't want to have it."

Elsa stared at the man with narrowed eyes. She knew from experience that that look could intimidate, for lack of a better term, weaker men and women. She continued the glare for another few seconds before saying, "I want to talk to the manager of the opera house."

"I'm sorry Madame, but I just can't let _anyone_ in to see Monsieur Barrett," the man said, trying to sound composed, but failing under Elsa's glare.

"Then I'll just have to explain to him how one of his employees wouldn't let the Queen of Arendelle purchase three tickets for a perfectly open box that would bring him more money than three ordinary open house seats and refuse to let us see him. I'm sure that I would be able to work out an arrangement with him for us to seat in the box. Although, I could just walk away and let people know that the Opera Populaire wouldn't let customers buy tickets. I'm sure they could understand. I know that you've just reopened and there might be a few people unaccustomed to working in an opera house. Once everything's settled down into routine that there'll be quite a few less people working here. Whether you'll be or not is entirely up to you right now."

The man looked completely ready to faint right then after Elsa was finished. "I-I-I'll take you to see him." He said and hurriedly went over to open a side door.

"Thank you." Elsa said politely as she went in with Anna and Kristoff.

The man hurried ahead and they followed behind. "Hey Elsa, you know you're kinda intimidating sometimes." Anna said.

Elsa giggled and thought, _I know, just ask Kristoff sometime. _

As they went through the opera house, Elsa would off and on get the feeling of being watched, but she shoved it aside whenever she felt it. That didn't mean that she would look around when she did though. Once again, nobody looked like they could produce such a feeling, except for one dirty man who couldn't hide the leer on his face if fate demanded it of him as they passed.

Eventually the man knocked at a door, and after a moment, the words on the side blurred and changed so Elsa could read them. _Monsieur Agel Barrett: Manager. _

_"Yes? What is it?"_ A voice came from inside.

"Uh Monsieur, there's a group of people that want tickets." The man said.

_"So?" _

"They want tickets for Box Five."

There were footsteps on the other side of the door, and then it opened. "Box Five you say?"

"Oui."

The man that Elsa presumed was Monsieur Barrett looked at them. At the same time, Elsa was looking over him. He was a middle-aged man, with sandy brown hair that was beginning to grey, wearing a good suit that hid some of his slightly overweight belly.

After a moment, he looked at the man. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention, I'll take them in."

"Please, come in." Barrett said and opened the door wider so they could come in.

"Merci." Elsa said and took a seat, along with Anna and Kristoff. The ticket manager stood in the back, waiting. Barrett closed the door and took a seat behind the desk.

"So, from what I understand, you want to purchase seats in box five, correct?"

"That is correct."

The man looked them over and then said, "Forgive me, I seem to have forgot my manners. I'm Agel Barrett, main manager for the Opera Populaire."

"I'm Queen Elsa of Arendelle, and this is my sister Anna and her friend Kristoff." Elsa introduced themselves, and saw that Barrett's eyes widened slightly.

"Your Majesty, I welcome you to the Opera Populaire. Now how can I help you?"

"I want to know what the… situation with box five is. This man here, Manager, was hesitant to give us tickets for it without us talking to you first."

Barrett nodded at the man, "Understandable. Since you are from out of country, or even Paris for that matter, you do not know the full story behind that particular box."

He sighed. "This was four years before I became manager for the Populaire. From the stories I've heard, it's a complicated tale. There was a young singer here named Christine Daaé and she somehow attracted the attention of a man that was known as the Phantom. At the time, he was considered a literal ghost as only people saw him for brief moments in the shadows. Accidents would happen when something he didn't like happened. From what I heard, the Prima Donna at the time attracted a lot of ire from him.

"The Phantom had an obsession with Christine and arranged it so that she would become the Prima Donna, but the managers at the time disagreed with the Phantom. The next opera ended in disaster; the then Prima Donna humiliated and a stagehand dead, hanged in front of most of Paris." Anna gasped and Kristoff shook his head at that information. Elsa remained still, listening devoutly, once again feeling the presence of someone looking at her. She discreetly glanced around, even sparing the ceiling a glance before returning her attention to Barrett.

"Later during a masquerade, the Phantom personally delivered an opera he wrote to the managers, then escaped."

"And Christine was the leading lady in this opera, correct?" Elsa asked.

Barrett chuckled, "Correct. However, Christine was caught in a strange love triangle between the Phantom, her tutor, and Viscount Raoul de Chagny, a childhood friend if I remember correctly whom she was then engaged to. The Viscount and the managers believed that they would catch the Phantom during the opera because the Phantom had previously claimed box five for his personal use, which the Viscount was using as well."

"I could imagine that would go over well," Elsa said with a dry smile.

Barrett chuckled again. "Right again. During the opera, the Phantom apparently killed the Primo Uomo and took his place just before Christine came on stage. Later on, Christine ripped off the Phantom's mask and-"

"I'm sorry, mask?" Anna interrupted.

"Indeed. If I may continue, I'll explain. The Phantom wore a mask as his face underneath it was, from what I've heard, hideous and likened to rotting flesh. The Phantom at this point was enraged and somehow managed to drop the main chandelier onto the stage, causing a major fire. The Phantom took Christine and escaped. A mob for lack of a better term stormed the Phantom's lair but found no sign of him. Weeks later, the Viscount and Christine were married and went to travel. It's been Four years since then and there's been no more sightings of him, but from all that you can understand why we are cautious about anything regarding the man."

Elsa was fascinated by the tale. "Interesting." She said, almost to herself.

"Wow," Anna said, "All that happened here?"

"Yes. That's why the opera was closed for four years and only a year ago repairs and modifications were started. Nobody wanted to take the manager position again after the last two's reputations were ruined, not that they had a clue about fine art like opera. They went back into the junk business after."

Elsa leaned forward and frowned slightly, "In your opinion, would it be safe for us to take box five?"

"Safe? That's a matter of opinion, whether you believe in ghosts or not."

Elsa chuckled darkly, "If I did, I know I would be haunted by now. Besides, he's not a ghost, he's a man, albeit a killer." _And I think my powers will be more than a match for him if he does try, _Elsa thought. She turned to Anna and Kristoff and asked, "What do you two think?"

Anna seemed deep in thought and Kristoff was looking slightly off to the wall. "I'm fine with it." He said.

"Yea, me too." Anna added.

"Then it's settled," Elsa turned back to Barrett, "We three will pay for seats in box five and take the consequences, if there are any."

Barrett nodded, "Very well." He looked at the ticket booth man and said, "Sell them the tickets."

"As you wish."

Barrett stood along with Elsa, Anna, and Kristoff. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention. It was a pleasure and I wish we'll meet again, your Majesty, your highness." He said with a bow to Elsa and Anna, then gave a nod to Kristoff.

"And the same for me." Elsa said, then went out the door being held open, with Kristoff and Anna following.

* * *

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

* * *

The Phantom was torn between amusement, admiration, curiosity, and anger. He had followed the group to the manager's office and listened in to their conversation. In the end, they decided to buy seats in _his_ box. The Phantom, after the conversation was over, went back to his lair in a haze.

_So, the ones that want my box are royalty: a Queen and Princess no less. Interesting. Queen Elsa is definitely one that could command respect and loyalty among her people, and also get what she wants through intimidation._ He chuckled to himself._ It was amusing how she played the booth man to get the box. However, they want_ my _box. That won't do at all. It's_ mine_, no one else's._

_ Although they didn't know that,_ he changed thoughts. _They're from out of France and didn't know about me. They saw an open box and took it, nothing personal about it. But it's still mine. And they heard that story about me,_ he thought enraged. _They had no right! No right to ask about me. They should pay for that transgression. Yes, I'll get them back when they take their seats in my box._

He frowned. He saw how the Queen seemed to feel him watching them, unlike the others. He noticed that even at the ticket booth, she was looking around for someone. And in the manager's office, at one point her eyes locked onto the spot where he was looking down on them before they moved away. Those blue eyes. Cold, yet warm at the same time. There was something about her…

He shook his head and dispelled those thoughts. He took a seat at his table and thought about his next move. _They didn't know about me, and they've traveled quite a ways, only to take what was available to them. I can't, shouldn't blame them for that. Even if it's my box they're not going to stay for long. She's a Queen and can't stay away from the throne for long. They'll be gone sometime after the opera. I can let them have it for now. I have other ways of watching the performance. _

He smirked. _However, I'll still pay them a visit during the opera. Perhaps I can have a little fun when they're still here. I can't be going soft like Antoinette wants me to be. I_ do _have a reputation to uphold. After the opera, I'll return to full glory. The Phantom of the Opera will return. _

The smile on his face was one of the first genuine ones he had in years.

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**Well, how many of you expected that to happen? Definitely will set up a future confrontation that's for sure! **

**Once again, please check out some of the other stories I have and Read, Review, Favorite, and Follow!**

**I remain your humble writer;**

**-OG**

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**OMAKE:**

"It's been Four years since then and there's been no more sightings of him, but from all that you can understand why we are cautious about anything regarding the man."

Elsa was fascinated by the tale. "Interesting." She said, almost to herself.

"Wow," Anna said, "All that happened here?"

"Yes. That's why the opera was closed for four years and only a year ago repairs and modifications were started. Nobody wanted to take the manager position again after the last two were ruined, not that they had a clue about fine art like opera. They went back into the junk business-"

Suddenly a man with wispy white hair and another with black hair burst into the office and cried out "Scrap metal, actually." Then they left as quickly as they came.

There was a shocked, dead silence before Kristoff said, "Well, that happened."


	6. The Gala

**Well here we are again, well past when this should have been updated. Oh yes I'm back! And hopefully the updates will be a little less in-between. I've edited all the past chapters, mainly corrections in spelling/grammar, so you may want to re-read them again... probably will just to remember what's going on in the story. Sorry for the long wait... **

**Oh, I also updated the cover for this story!**

**So without further ado, here's Chapter 6!**

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_Paris: November 15, 1875_

"Elsaaaaaa! Come on! Wake up wake up wake up!" Anna was hovering over Elsa's bed, shaking her like when they were little, or rather, every time Anna was awake before Elsa and eager to do something. Anna never missed a chance to wake her up considering that she would usually sleep for most of the day if allowed. Granted, she usually stayed up late taking care of running Arendelle, but Anna didn't care. When they were little Elsa would do as much of the waking up as she did. Now she could repay Elsa a tiny bit for all those times.

"Anna?" Came Elsa's groggy voice from the pillows. "What… what are you doing?" She said, interrupted by a yawn.

"I'm waking you up silly! The opera is today!"

"Tonight Anna," Elsa corrected out of hand. "Whatever time it is, I'm sure we have a few more hours before the show starts." Elsa murmured, rolling over so she was face up and could see her sister eagerly leaning over her.

"But Elsa, half the day is gone! It's an _opera_! We've never seen one before! We don't have an opera house in Arendelle… Why don't we anyway? We should totally get one!" Elsa glanced at the clock and indeed it showed that it was past ten. _Much later than I normally sleep. _

Elsa smiled in amusement, "One does not simply 'get one'. It needs to be built and have people running it, plus having the actors... If you look, then you'll see that there are a lot of people needed," she finished, not really knowing how an opera house ran anyway.

Anna mock scowled, "How do you know all that if you've never been to an opera?"

"Guesses, deductions, general business practices, and a lesson with… and a lesson I had years ago." Elsa said, trailing off a bit. _One of the few conversations I had with father that was somewhat fun and got me interested in music, _Elsa thought.

"Oh, okay!" Anna said, getting that vibe from her sister again. "Maybe we can go after the show and check it out!" Anna suggested.

Elsa yawned and got up, "Possibly. It depends on how things go."

"How could they not possibly go anyhow other than amazing?" Anna muttered to herself, completely unaware Elsa could hear every word.

Elsa just smiled to herself and said, "It's more about how we feel after the opera, whether we're tired or not."

"Sounds like you just don't want to go,"~ Anna teased in a song-song voice.

"Of course I do, I just- oh never mind, let me get dressed!" Elsa cut off. "And yes, we can stay after." Anna cheered and exited, leaving Elsa amused and slightly irritated about being wakened up, but that was fading as the minutes rolled by.

She came out of her room fully dressed with her translation amulet and walked in on Anna and Kristoff lip locked. Elsa was conflicted, split between knowing that Kristoff asked for her blessing to marry Anna, and wanting to play the big sister.

She settled for a loud clearing of her throat and had to stifle a laugh at how quickly they separated and flew to opposite ends of the couch. "Let's have breakfast," she decided for them, trying to keep her voice from cracking in hilarity.

"Oh, uh, what? I mean, sure, yes!" Anna stammered out, her face red. Kristoff was looking anywhere except at Elsa. Finally Elsa couldn't help it and giggle at their faces.

"Honestly, you're making it out to be like you were doing something much worse than just kissing," Elsa teased, making their faces redder than a tomato. They all sat down at the dining table after getting their modest breakfast, as they really didn't need extravagant food prepared, and ate with little small talk.

After they finished Elsa asked, "Are there any plans that we need to do before the gala tonight?"

"Uh, no, not really." Anna responded.

Kristoff frowned and posed a question. "Wait, why do you make it sound like you _do_ have something?"

The two sisters looked at each other, then back to Kristoff. "Well, we do. We need to get dressed, put on make up, get our hair done…" Anna listed off.

"Wait, wait, wait… it shouldn't take that long… right?" He asked hopefully.

"I was up at six to have people do my make up and hair during the day of my coronation," Elsa deadpanned, "and it started at midday."

Kristoff paled and even Anna cringed a bit. "Yikes, six hours?"

"Not quite, but it took a _long_ time."

"Well it won't take that long," Anna assured Kristoff, "but we do need at least a couple hours."

Kristoff just shook his head in disbelief. "I don't get it."

"You're not really supposed to," Anna said. "Just accept it and move on."

"Well then what am I supposed to do while waiting?"

"Entertain yourself," Elsa said with a smirk. "Maybe go out and do things you want to do? Maybe take care of things?" Elsa said, wiggling her ring finger so Anna couldn't see it. Kristoff did and with a slight nod acknowledged that he got the message.

He sighed. "Fine. I'll go out and do… something," he waved his hands around in a vague motion. "Get out of your hair…" he smirked then. "Though I won't be the one playing vainly around with my own hair for hours."

"Vain? Vain! I'll show you vain Ice Boy!" Anna exclaimed and rushed over to Kristoff to do something to him, but he was wily and evaded her to get inside his room and lock the door. Anna started pounding on the door. "Kristoff! Get out here now! Elsa, a little help?"

Elsa laughed, "Nope, you're the one that loves that lulk, you'll have to deal with him yourself." She turned and went back to her own room, but not before grabbing a piece of fruit to eat.

"Elsaaaaaaaa…" Anna's whine followed her, earning another laugh from Elsa. She closed the door behind her with a grin. _I have a good feeling about today._

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It was a little while before Kristoff could escape the safety of his room after he finally managed to talk Anna down and _'somewhat'_ apologize for his comments. While she was outside, he had been preparing for what he was going to do, packing his bag with the things he would need. Once she had left to get ready for the opera, he got his bag and left their little abode.

Paris was starting to get a chill in the air from the onset of the coming winter, but it was nowhere near what Arendelle could get, let alone up in the mountains. Kristoff definitely found the city to be drastically different from Arendelle, like he expected. There was a bit more art and 'poshness' in the higher end streets and the people were definitely more varied than back home which was both good and bad.

But he wasn't looking at such things then. He was trying to find a good jeweler shop to make the rings he wanted.

As he wandered closer to where he thought one would be, he thought, _yeah it's a good thing I brought as much money as I did. This is going to be expensive._ He had his translation amulet on and it was working, distorting the letters on the buildings and forming them into words he could comprehend and understand.

Eventually he found a jeweler's shop that looked pretty good named 'Monsieur DelMont's Finery' and steeling himself, entered.

Immediately he was accosted by a sales person that had a slight sneer on his face and his nose upturned. "I'm sorry mister, but I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave."

_Hoo-boy, so it's starting out like this already. Great. Thankfully I know how to deal with difficult businessmen. _"And why should I leave? Would you rather I do business elsewhere and not get my money?"

The man sniffed. "I reckon that you don't have enough to afford anything here."

"I do, and in notes," Kristoff said, hefting up his bag and showing it to the man. "Now if you're done trying to prevent your… business from getting more money, whom do I talk to about getting custom jewelry done?"

The man gave him a stink eye before nodding over to another man behind a case. "Monsieur Ravé can help you," he said before he turned away in disgust. Kristoff stared at his retreating back before following his recommendation and walked over to the man.

"Excuse me?" Kristoff said to get his attention. "I was told you do custom jewelry?"

"Why yes I can," the man said. Already Kristoff could tell he was much more pleasant than the other guy. "My name is Ravé; you have a request, non?"

"I do; I want to have a set of engagement rings and wedding rings made from this crystal," Kristoff pulled off his pack and pulled out the Fire Crystal for Ravé to see.

The man's eyes grew large at the slightly glowing crystal. "May I?" He asked, wanting to look at it. Kristoff nodded and gave it to him. Ravé pulled out an eyeglass for him to look at the crystal and spent some time examining it. "This is extraordinary. I've never seen anything like it. Where did you find this?"

"It's… from my home kingdom. There aren't many like this. We call it a Fire Crystal," Kristoff explained, leaving out some of the more magical elements.

"I can see why," Ravé muttered. He took off his eyeglass and held the crystal in his hand. "This gem is enough to have several rings made from, or many gems in the ring itself, much more than two. You said you wanted engagements rings then, for you and the soon-to-be Missus?"

"Uhh, yes," Kristoff said.

"I can cut this down to make what you want, but they'll be plenty left over." He seemed to be mulling things over in his head and then said, "I'll make you a deal. After the rings are made, I keep what's left of the crystals and in return you get 30% off of the final price."

"40%," Kristoff countered, now getting into something he knew how to do: haggle.

The man squinted at him, "35% and no more."

Kristoff grinned. "Deal."

"So then, what styles of rings were you looking for?" Ravé asked.

"Nothing really complex," Kristoff said, "but I do want this symbol engraved in her rings on either side of the gem," he pulled out a sketch of the Arendellean crocus to show Ravé.

"Hmm, shouldn't be too hard… and do you also want these patterns as well?" He asked, pointing to the simple Rosemåling patterns next to the crocus.

"If that's possible," Kristoff said.

"Oh yes yes yes, definitely. It's been years since I've worked with this style. Where did you say you were from?"

"I didn't, but Arendelle."

"Hmmm," Ravé stayed silent, then nodded to himself. "What type of metal do you want the rings to be made from?"

"White gold."

"What sizes?" Kristoff suddenly panicked. _Ohhh shit. What is Anna's ring finger size? Damnit Bjornman! You literally had everything else ready except for this. _Ravé chuckled and pulled out different mock fingers for size reference. "You wouldn't be the first to not know your ladies' finger size. Which one looks right?"

Kristoff breathed out a sigh of relief and pointed out the one that looked like Anna's size. "Okay then," Ravé said, "now I just need your finger size and then I can get started. When do you need the rings by?"

Kristoff thought about it. Well, we're leaving sometime in December before the weather gets really bad, so probably by the end of the month. "Sometime around the end of November and the beginning of December."

"Do you have a place you're staying so I can tell you when the rings are done?"

"Yes, it's at Building Number 4, Lane de Voyageurs."

"Name?"

"Kristoff Bjornman," Kristoff said, and he needed to spell it for Ravé.

"Okay, now we need to discuss payment. It's a full 5.000 francs upfront deposit, and then when you come to pick up the rings we'll discuss the second payment."

Kristoff nodded, "Sounds fair. I have it in notes with me right now."

Ravé's eyebrows rose. "You carried that much with you? You are a brave man, Monsieur Bjornman." Kristoff just shrugged and pulled out the bank notes, counting them out to the price requested.

"So is that everything?" Kristoff asked.

"For the moment," Ravé said. "It has been a pleasure, Monsieur Bjornman. I'll send a letter to inform you when the rings are ready."

"Merci," Kristoff said. Sometimes I wonder how these amulets work, or when they don't.

"Have a pleasant day."

"And to you," Kristoff returned, turning away and exiting out of the jewelers.

_Today's going to be a good day._

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* * *

Anna struggled to get her dress feeling right, which wasn't helped by what she was wearing. "Why do I ever need a corset?" She grouched as she shimmied around before finally getting the dress on right.

"I've asked myself that many times," Elsa said from across the room.

"But you hardly wear one!" Anna complained.

"I'm wearing one now," Elsa countered, gesturing to the purple and green dress she was wearing, and indeed she had a corset.

"Why?" _She hardly ever wears one anyway, why is she wearing one now?_

"Well, this is our first time out of Arendelle, and Corona doesn't count," Elsa said before Anna could interrupt, "and we _are_ visiting royalty so we need to make a good impression."

"Oh, right," Anna deflated. "Sometimes I hate being a princess."

"And sometimes I hate being a Queen, but there's little use trying to pretend otherwise… at least for today," Elsa said.

"Hardly anyone knows we're here though," Anna said, still not giving up on it.

"The manager of the Opera Populaire does though, and he's most likely to announce that fact."

_Great,_ Anna thought as she looked in the mirror to make sure her eye shadow and mascara was fine.

"Anna, what's the matter?" Elsa asked.

Anna smiled a bit, "Nothing earth shattering," she admitted, "it's just I don't like being paraded in front of everyone. Well, I mean you have it worse with your… this going on," she waved at all of Elsa, "but… it doesn't feel right."

Elsa nodded sadly. "I know. But there's one lesson father told me that I remember… 'grin and bear it.'" She said with a smirk.

Anna rolled her eyes and sat down to do her hair. She felt another pair of hands going through her hair and dropped her own so Elsa could work. "I always love working with your hair," Elsa said.

"Well I like yours too," Anna responded. "It's so fine and shiny, and when the light hits it it's amazing," she gushed a bit, getting a soft chuckle from her sister.

"Well yours is so thick and smooth, and the color is so vibrant. I'm surprised Kristoff isn't beating off other men with a stick."

Anna laughed. "What he does miss you nab right off the bat." A few minutes later Elsa motioned for her to stand up and look at herself in the mirror. Her hair was in a magnificent braid that was wound up into a neat bun, held together by blue ribbons. Not a hair was out of place. "Wow Elsa, it's like looking at a whole new me!"

"I like both versions of you. Actually, I just like you no matter how you look," Elsa responded. She sat down. "Now you do mine."

Anna took a little longer but she managed to get Elsa's hair done in another bun. Before Anna could get a ribbon, Elsa stopped her and used her magic to create bands to hold her hair in place, adding little snowflakes as decoration in her silver-blond hair. "Always magnificent as always," Anna said.

"You said 'always' twice," Elsa pointed out.

"'Cause it's true," she stated. "Now, is there anything else?"

"I don't think so. Let's get our purses and see if Kristoff's ready," Elsa said as she grabbed her light blue bag. Anna grabbed her own light green bag and went out of the room. They found Kristoff lounging about in the waiting room, perfectly dressed in a tailored suit. When they entered he looked up and stood up… and then stumbled.

Anna almost did the same. _Whoa… he looks…_ good _in a suit. He should wear suits more often._ "Wow Kristoff… you look good!"

"You, uh, look good yourself. I mean, more than good! Amazing," He corrected through his slight word vomit.

Despite herself Anna blushed and said, "Thank you." She walked over to him and gave him a peck on the cheek. "By the way, what did you do earlier today?"

"Nothing," he said… a little bit too quickly and defensively, "just wandered around a bit, taking in the sights."

_Okay he's hiding something…_ she looked over at Elsa, _and she knows something about it as well. What're you two planning?_ Anna decided to play inattentive to their scheming and said, "And how long did it take you to get ready?"

Kristoff smirked. "About half an hour," he said teasingly.

"Sometimes I hate men," Anna commented in jest. "C'mon lover-boy, let's go see an opera!" She took his arm and started dragging him out of the house.

"Do you have your amulets?" Elsa asked after them.

"Eyep," Anna answered affirmatively.

"Yes," Kristoff said as well.

"I guess I'll lock up then," Elsa said after them.

"Okay, you do that!" Anna replied, her smile audible. They swiftly found a carriage and they all got in after paying and stating that they wanted to go to the Opera Populaire.

Anna smiled and declared, "To the Opera!" She thrust her fist forward in enthusiasm. Kristoff and Elsa chuckled at her enthusiasm. _Oh sure you're both trying to act nonchalant, but you're just as excited as I am; I can tell. I have a feeling tonight's going to be a good night._

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He looked out over the arriving guests and audience, eyeing each one, taking in their appearances and mannerisms after a few moments of study. Just like before every performance like he used to. He had almost forgotten what it felt like. To be able to look at all of them without them knowing, to find out all about them just by studying them.

_Monsieur Barrett has done an… acceptable job at arranging and preparing for the opera. I would have been hopeful if I didn't know that this opera would be a success. Just what the Populaire needs to resume its place as the forefront of opera performances. It's not going to be exceptional since I haven't had anything to do with this this time, but it would be enough. For now. _

New arrivals caught his notice, and they were the ones that had garnered his utmost attention. It was the trio from… Arendelle. The Queen, the Princess and their… escort? The Phantom didn't know what he was just yet, but he definitely wasn't a servant or butler. _Family friend?_ After a moment of watching, he saw the redheaded girl loop her arms through his. _Consort then? Interesting. Seems to be lower born than most. _

The red haired girl and the blond man didn't interest him as much though as the third person, the queen herself. Never before had his opera house had royalty, the highest echelon of a country. The lesser nobility came here in spades, but not the leaders of a country, even as small a one as Arendelle (he had looked it up on a map).

The queen was different than what he expected. She seemed respectful and well mannered, and discussed subjects well with others when spoken to, but there was something different about her.

It was the little things, how she would move to the less denser parts of the pre-show crowd whenever she could and stay close to her sister, or how she would subtly tuck in on herself in a crowd, or certain expressions seemed strained or forced (though that applied for the nobles who didn't want to talk to others as well). Besides that, she appeared to have some otherworldly grace as she moved around, much like he did.

No, it might be how she seemed to look around as if someone, mainly himself, was watching her, and always managed to look near the spot he was at, even after he changed positions in the little nooks and holes of the opera house. It was slightly infuriating. That combined with the knowledge that they were using _his_ box made sure that he was going to enjoy frightening them, making sure they wouldn't dare use his box again.

A sudden chime caught everyone's attention, signaling that they could now take their seats. The crowd slowly started going further inside to the auditorium and diminishing. The Phantom decided that it would be a good thing to go to his box so he could begin his night.

_Oh yes, this will be an excellent night._

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* * *

Elsa glanced around again for the umpteenth time, looking for those invisible eyes examining her. She had started to feel them once again almost as soon as she entered the main hall of the Opera Populaire, and it was driving her spare. She had scanned the crowd looking for anyone that was giving her that feeling, and when that failed, she drew her attention elsewhere, like the ceiling. _Just like when I was in Mr. Barrett's office,_ she thought.

The feeling seemed to move throughout the opening hall until a chime sounded for the guests to go into the main auditorium for the opera. Then the feeling vanished and Elsa felt like she could finally take a breath. _What am I feeling? What's causing me to feel like there's someone watching me?_ She sighed and found her sister and, hopefully, soon-to-be fiancé and they made their way to the infamous Box Five.

She had no doubt that the 'Ghost' was a man, and that was verified by an entire audience of Paris' higher echelon, but had doubts on the story. Not doubts per-sé, more like shaded parts. Things that needed an alternate perspective in order to make sense. _We have the outside perspective, but nothing else. Although, that's probably for the best. It's not like I want to find out anyway. And I don't want to ask anybody involved, even if I could._

There were a few stairs before they reached the box, and once they did, found it in perfect condition, but for Elsa, there seemed to be just a bit more gloom in it than the others.

"Oh wow!" Anna gushed, "This place is amazing! Just look at everything! The designs! The art! That chandelier!" Elsa couldn't help bit smile, her previous thoughts forgotten.

"Everything does look extraordinary. I however am looking forward to the gala," Elsa said.

"What's it called again, 'The Fairy Dances?'" Kristoff asked.

"Yep. Interesting name though," Anna said, then smirked, "I wonder if it'll have magic in it?" She giggled a bit.

"Only the magic of the stage," Elsa said as she took a seat on the right. Anna sat in the middle and Kristoff on her left.

_'A very good answer your majesty.'_ Elsa shot up from her seat and looked around. "Elsa? What are you doing?" Anna asked, worry in her voice.

"Didn't you hear that?" Elsa questioned, looking around.

"Hear what?"

"That voice!"

"There's a lot of voices Elsa," Kristoff said dryly. Elsa grudgingly sat back down, casting suspicious glances around her. She swore she heard a snicker from somewhere, but ignored it.

After a few minutes Monsieur Barrett walked on stage with the curtains still closed and the audience fell silent. "Ladies and gentlemen, lords and ladies: welcome to the first performance of the newly reopened Opera Populaire!" There was a smattering of applause and a few cheers. "I know that the past of this opera house may be shrouded and full of fear, but that is in the past." Elsa smiled to herself, ~_the past is in the past._~ "And we must move forward to a future filled with light and song!" More applause.

"This past year has seen major changes to the opera house; much of it has been repaired and remolded since that unfortunate fire four years ago, many of the crew and performers have been switched around and changed, and now we are ready to perform for you.

"We are pleased to have Monsieur Reyer returning to us as our maestro for our extraordinary orchestra, and you will all be hearing their wonderful music in a few moments.

"Lastly, with us tonight are some very special guests from the kingdom of Arendelle." At that Elsa stiffened, and Anna and Kristoff shuffled, clearly not ready to be put into the spotlight. "We are deeply honored to have Queen Elsa and her sister, Princess Anna with us tonight, and wish that you enjoy our performance and return in the future." Barrett gave a bow to them and almost all of the audience turned to look at their box. Loud whispers were heard through the crowd. Elsa quickly put on her mask and arranged a neutral smile on her face. _Hopefully Anna and Kristoff don't do anything much. And I am going to have a private discussion with Mr. Barrett after the show. _

She heard a chuckle_. 'Perhaps you should have stayed home if you wished to avoid to spotlight.'_ Elsa turned behind her quickly, but once again, saw nobody, then returned looking forward. _Who is that?_

"Now, without further ado, I present to you the Opera Populaire's _The Fairy Dances_." He bowed and walked off the stage to loud applause, and Elsa's own distracted clapping.

The lights were dimmed and the orchestra began their introduction, which was a peaceful, flowing melody. Then the curtains opened onto a marvelous set which depicted a woodland realm in the early morning. A bunch of dancers came onstage and started dancing with the music. It was a calm sight.

Two people came onstage, an actor and an actress. The man had short black hair and was dressed in stylish shades of black with silver and gold trim. He also had a rapier on his belt. The actress had long light brown hair that was woven into an intricate braid. The pair made their way to the center and began to sing. Thankfully with her amulet she could understand it.

~"For two long years we have toiled to keep our kingdom safe,"~ the man sung in a warm tenor.

~"For two long years we kept our people alive from the Drakes and their armies,"~ the woman now sung, bordering on soprano.

~"We have finally gained the peace we longed for,"~

~"Our Armies are no longer needed,"~

~"And now Asena,"~

~"And now Kíro,"~

~""We are safe and strong,""~ both of them finished.

Elsa sat back and tried to immerse herself in the opera, but once again she felt that nagging feeling of someone watching her. And that feeling was confirmed when she heard that voice again, right next to her ear. _'Tell me, do you enjoy operas?'_ Instinctively she jerked her head away from the voice next to her ear.

"Elsa?" Anna whispered to her.

"It's nothing," Elsa hissed, ignoring the chuckling in her _other_ ear now. _'You seem to have a lack of restraint, your Majesty. I would've thought you would have better practice concealing your emotions.'_

Elsa gripped the arms of her chair hard in a brief rage, hearing that 'C' word again. Her rage stopped when she noticed she was close to freezing her seat, and forcefully reigned in her magic and made the ice disappear. Thankfully no one seemed to noticed, but now Elsa was pissed at the voice.

The opera had introduced a new character during this time, a man named Surgin, who apparently was the villain and wanted Asena, the princess of the fairies, for himself. He told the audience in an aside just before enacting his plan. He grabbed Asena and held a knife to her neck, and started his triumphant song.

~"Oh now you see only just too late,  
How everything can change in a twist of fate.  
The one you love will soon be mine,  
Everything is going as I designed.  
For the war you fought two years ago  
That which left realms and kingdoms to the carrion crow,  
Was all my doing so I would become king,  
And I would have all the riches that it would bring."~ Surgin finished leering at Asena whom he had in his grasp. Then he shouted, "Mercenaries, strike down Kíro! Kill him while I claim my prize." He retreated off stage with the struggling Asena, while four armed men surrounded Kíro.

Anna leaned over to Elsa. "Surgin seems like a familiar character," she whispered, a bit of venom in her voice. Elsa nodded, reminded of Hans.

_'Hmm, sounds like you've had an interesting life,' _that infuriating voice was back, and Elsa gripped the arms of her chair again in an effort not to react this time. Onstage, Kíro fought the four mercenaries in a combination of fencing and dance moves. Once they were defeated, he sung,

~"Asena, my love, I will find you,  
And free you from that terrible monster."~

_'One might wonder if there would be a prince to save you your Majesty, or would you be all alone?'_ The voice said again. Elsa smirked to herself and leaned over to Anna and said, slightly louder than a whisper, "We don't need princes to save each other, don't we?"

"You said it… though they are nice," Anna said in agreement as held Kristoff's hand and smiled at him.

Elsa had a smug grin on her face as the voice had no answer. _Glad that message got to him. It. Him. I have a suspicion of whom the voice belongs to…_

The opera continued with marvelous dancing and music, Kíro journeying to an underground city that was split between the Drakes and the fairy kingdom. Along the way he met another young woman, a blond girl, named Lilith, who quickly developed an infatuation with him. Not that he noticed and her attempts to get him to notice her grew quite comical over time as they journeyed together.

Eventually they reached the city of the Drakes and stayed outside the cities' walls in a small village. ~"Time has passed and we are close to our goal,"~ Kíro sung.

~"Time has passed yet he doesn't see me,"~ Lilith sang to herself.

~"Soon my dear Asena we will be reunited,"~ Kíro started again,

~"And I will have Surgin's head brought before me."~

~"I will make him see."~ Lilith vowed.

~""Everything will be decided,""~ Both of them sang.  
And I will/won't let things be,  
For the next day will see me triumphant,  
And we will be dancing as the fairies.""~

The lights dimmed and the curtain closed, signaling the beginning of the intermission. The three in box five stood up and stretched. _'Enjoying the performance from_ my _box, your Majesty?_' The voice sneered in her ear again. Elsa growled in annoyance, but controlled herself. "So Anna, how do you like it so far?" Elsa asked. "I am enjoying myself," Elsa shot back.

"Oh it's simply amazing! The dancing, and the music! I just- I want to be a part of one!" Anna streamed out.

Elsa chuckled. "Let's go and stretch our legs a bit." _And so I can have a little peace from that voice. _The three of them filed out of the box and went to relieve themselves and get some refreshments.

* * *

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* * *

Minutes later The Phantom pushed aside the secret door to Box Five and growled to himself. ~"Oh she's good, my game has a skilled player for me.  
Beneath her calm exterior she has a fragile heart.  
But she has caught on to my jubilee,  
And seeks to turn it back on the master."~ He paused, thinking. "Though, every game needs an opponent to play against. And you, Queen Elsa, are a skilled player for all your inexperience. I look forward to this." The murmur of the audience coming back caused him to pause, then retreat back into the workings of Box Five.

It would be a little bit later until the Queen, Princesss, and their escort/consort returned and sat down. He smirked to himself when he noticed the Queen a little more on edge than before. It was entertaining to use his ventriloquism to unnerve her, and it was his goal to make her never want to use his box again.

_Even though you may be a Queen, this is my realm, and you must abide by my laws, _the Phantom thought to himself as the opera began again.

This wasn't to say he wasn't watching the opera himself. No, he had another vantage point that he could see all of the stage from inside the wall. Although his box would be immensely more comfortable to watch from. If there wasn't someone in it.

The opera opened up with Surgin trying to persuade Asena to forget about Kíro and be with him. ~"Riches could be yours, people will worship you,  
Everyone will answer to your every whim,  
For if you marry me you will be Queen of the Drakes,  
And soon the entire world, for we will take all.  
And you, dear Asena, will have your pick of the treasure,  
Of anything you desire you will have, but only if you ask."~

Asena turned around and glared at Surgin. ~"Then let me have my freedom,  
Let me have the right to choose.  
Not stuck in a cage by some twisted form of a Drake,  
Not held at swordpoint to be wed,  
Let me choose. Let me leave."~

The Phantom saw that the trio was engaged in the opera again, and decided to start the game again. 'You should have left when you found out there were no seats for you.' He was rewarded when the Queen stiffened again and glanced around.

_"Elsa,"_ her sister said, _"calm down. I don't know what's wrong, but it's weirding me out right now."_

'Listen to your sister, your Majesty,' he chuckled. He saw her try to crush the armrests of her chair. 'Your anger serves no purpose. You cannot hurt me.'

_"Oh I will,"_ Elsa answered her sister to calm down and threatened him at the same time. _Yes, she does know how to play the game. I wouldn't expect any less from a queen. She definitely knows how to stand up for herself, not like-… why would I think that? Why would I compare them at all? _She_ was an angel, nothing purer… and she turned against me… _stop it, now_! Don't think. _

With what was left of his good mood spoiled, the Phantom decided to up the ante a bit with his fun. The scene had changed back to Kíro and Lilith as they tried to find a way inside the castle. Things were tense as they were sneaking around, past guards. 'Just like how they are in Surgin's castle, you are in mine. You are in my box. I have killed for lesser trivialities. You will not be returning after this night.' He saw her tense up again. 'Oh it must agonize you how you cannot attack me. I am in the shadows. I am over here,' he threw his voice to her left, 'I am over here,' he threw his voice to the right. '…But wait. You can. For I'm… _right behind you!_' He finished loudly, but still so only she could hear.

_That_ got a reaction, but not one he ever expected.

He expected that she would turn around and make a fool of herself in front of her sister, maybe cause a disturbance that would bring other prying eyes to her embarrassment. But nothing like this.

She spun around and had her hand out as if to shove somebody. But then her hand glowed blue and streams of silver-blue shot out. With nothing there, the streams continued until they hit the back wall of the box and somehow formed a layer of ice covering half the wall. It made a hissing bang noise that was in contrast to the opera, when it was supposed to be quiet.

To their credit, the actors only paused for a second before resuming the opera. However, there were many that had turned their heads to the sound and were staring directly at Box Five and their visible occupants. The queen's face had turned a bright red from the humiliation, but it was barely visible in the low light, so it was unlikely that the audience could see it. Her sister was whispering furiously to her as she now sat ramrod straight.

_Maybe… maybe that's enough for now. I'll just… just go now._ In shock at what he just saw, the Phantom left his box for one of his other viewpoints, more confused than before. _It must have been some trick, a masterful illusion. I must have been seeing things. It_ must _be_. _Magic… just doesn't exist. It doesn't._

* * *

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

* * *

Elsa had never been so embarrassed in her life. She had _known_ the voice was going to do something, but she _still_ reacted. It had sounded as if he was right behind her; she even felt the air of his breath on her neck. And she played right into his taunting in possibly the worst way possible. The _bang-crackle_ echoed momentarily in the hall. _Oh no. Oh no. This is bad. This is very bad. No, think. Think! The angle's wrong for them to have seen anything. All they would have heard was a loud noise. _

Elsa quickly made the ice vanish and turned around, trying to act like nothing was wrong, but she could feel the heat in her face as there were many eyes staring in their direction. Anna also decided to add in her two pence worth. "Elsa, what was that? What are you doing? There's nothing there. You need to calm down… wow, generally it's you saying that to me. That's weird. Anyway, Elsa, please, just… stop what it is."

Elsa grit her teeth and nodded, not trusting herself to speak. The opera continued. She had missed the part where Kíro rejected Lilith finally and the duo was now about to sneak into the main hall. Unfortunately they had gotten spotted and it seemed like every guard was being called.

"Kíro! Go! Save Asena. I'll hold them off," Lilith said.

"But you're outnumbered, you'll be overrun!" Kíro protested, not wanting her hurt.

She smiled sadly. "Go. Save the one you love. Have something I could never have." He nodded and ran offstage. Lilith ran off to the other side, towards the approaching guards. There was a swift scene change as Surgin and Asena came on.

~"Asena, I have been patient, I have waited,  
But time grows short, and my tolerance fading.  
Will you marry me, or will you refuse?  
Will you live a life of luxury, or will you whither away?  
You must choose. Decide!"~

~"My choice was made before I even knew you,"~ Asena now sung.  
~"My heart lies with Kíro and always will.  
Even being near you covers my heart with slime,  
Your very presence sickens me.  
I would rather die, than live with you."~

Madness now dwelt in Surgin's eyes. "So," he snarled, "that is how it will be? Very well. Force it is." He pulled out a knife and a ring from his pockets. "You will be mine, in living, or in death."

"No she will not!" Kíro had made his appearance. Surgin shoved Asena behind him and faced Kíro.

~"Ah Kíro, we meet again at last,  
The circle complete,  
The knot almost tied,  
Now embrace your destruction!"~ He charged forward with the knife and somehow managed to slice Kíro's sword arm, forcing him to drop the blade.

~"Now you see, what bravado and bravery gets you,  
While what cunning and trickery can to,  
I arranged the war to bring both kingdoms to their knees,  
And now all will answer to what I need.  
Asena, the Faries, the Drakes,  
All mine!"~

"NO!" Kíro shouted and rushed at Surgin. The two struggled around a bit and the music grew tense. Elsa had become engaged once more with the opera and was now leaning forward ever so slightly in anticipation. Anna was shaking a bit even with Kristoff's hand trying to keep her from bouncing.

After an intense struggle, Kíro managed to turn the knife around and stab Surgin, who fell to the ground with the knife in his chest. There was an audible gasp of relief from the audience, especially from Anna. Elsa relaxed a bit as well. The two lovers onstage reunited, and after a little bit, returned to their kingdom where they had their wedding.

~""For two long years we have faced our fears,""~ both of them sang,  
~""For two long years we have endured hardships and scars,  
Peace is finally achieved,  
We have won,  
Our love has prevailed over evil, chaos, and darkness

~"And now Asena,"~

~"And now Kíro,"~

~""We will be one!""~ They ended on a triumphant crescendo, and took a short bow. The audience burst into applause as they made their way off stage. They soon returned with other members of the crew in tow for individual bows then a group bow. The conductor got his own mention and he bowed to the audience in gratitude. Soon the lights were re-lit and the curtain closed.

The gala was over.

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**Well, that's that. Hope this was worth the wait! If any of you are wondering, the premise of the gala was the second half of the first season of Sword Art Online, another thing I don't own btw. I literally had no other ideas for the gala, but I hope you all liked it!**

**Now then, please Read, Review, Favorite, and Follow (R.R.F.F)**

**I remain your humble writer,**

**-OG**


	7. After the Show

**Hey hey! Remember this story? Because I didn't! Honestly though it's been a while and I've been meaning to update for some time, but just didn't feel like writing and/or couldn't find anything to put in until basically this Veterans Day weekend, where I wrote about 6,000 words to get to this. And I didn't read through it again so if there's any inconsistencies please point them out to me so I can correct them. **

**In other news (well still the same news) I wrote a new chapter! Yay! I don't have much more to say so here's Chapter 7!**

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**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
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_Paris: November 15, 1875_

Elsa breathed a sigh of relief as the lights came back on. Now that things were illuminated better and the shadows had been chased away she could see her surroundings, and there was nothing out of the ordinary. While the finale of the gala had driven away the feeling of a presence looming around her, she still remembered that voice, the oppressing aura, taunting her. _Who was that? Or was it my imagination? No, I'd rather not go down that line of thought again… maybe it was that man,_ Elsa suddenly thought as she remembered the story Mr. Barrett had told them. _That Opera Ghost person…_

_That's just silly though, and even so, there isn't much I can do about that, _she thought trying to dismiss the incident. _I have no proof of anything and it would just draw unwanted attention to myself if I tried to make a spectacle out of it. I just have to put it out of my mind for now. _"So," she ventured to Anna and Kristoff, "was that as good as you envisioned?"

Anna blinked in momentary surprise before her eyes lit up in excitement. "Oh my goodness yes! The stage! The music! The actors! Squeeee!" Anna squealed, jumping and squirming around in her seat from excitement.

Elsa laughed, glad to have something to take her mind off of what happened. "I know! The music was incredible and the singers were phenomenal! I know that our choirs are very talented, but this opera was something else entirely." _Not to mention a different genre. _

"And the story was brilliant!" Kristoff added eagerly. "Everything worked so well and that scene at the end really made me tense and the resolution was the cherry on the top." _He seemed to have enjoyed himself. That's good, _Elsa thought. She was originally worried that Kristoff wouldn't adapt too well to this area of the fine arts, not to be offensive to him and his upraising, but it seemed that she was worrying over nothing.

"I know, right?!" Anna agreed. "We _totally_ need to get an opera house in Arendelle!"

Elsa laughed again and said, "I'll look into it." _And this time it isn't one of those, 'I say it just to satisfy you and hope you forget it soon' moments. I am genuinely interested in seeing if there is a way to bring opera to Arendelle. Goodness knows that the crown has the gold Mëten to spare. One good thing my father did. Though finding the space to build an opera house would be a challenge,_ she thought.

She shook those thoughts out of her head. "This has been a wonderful evening and we should thank Monsieur Barrett for allowing us here. After which let's head back to our flat. It is getting a little late," Elsa said, flipping open her pocket watch that she kept, checking the time. It was a little after ten in the evening.

She looked up and unfortunately for her met Anna's eyes. Anna seemed to be a bit bashful as she whined a bit. She looked at Elsa with those round puppy-dog eyes that she could never say no to and asked, "Elsa? Can we actually stay for a little while longer, pleassssse?"

Elsa groaned internally, wanting to leave before something else happened, but she couldn't say no without a good reason. So she plastered on a convincing smile and said, "Sure."

"Yay! We can probably get the manager-person-guy-whatshis-"

"Barrett," Kristoff supplied.

"Him," Anna added in, "to let us wander around a bit."

Elsa frowned. "Is that a good idea? We don't know our way around, so we could and should ask for a tour."

"Nahh, we'll be fine," Anna dismissed. "Besides, it's not like we're gonna go through every single room. Just some of the main parts that are easily accessible."

Kristoff thought for a bit and shrugged. "I really have no problem with that," he said. "Could be informational for when we want our own opera house," he reasoned. "Plus fun," he added wit ha grin.

This time Elsa did sigh, but gave in to the points made. "Alright, we'll ask him." _Well, Kristoff's right, _she thought,_ we could have some fun_. _As long as that voice doesn't come back,_ came the unwanted thought. She brushed it aside as she hadn't heard it since a little after the intermission. After her… brief loss of control.

They all stood up and made their way out of box five, not needing to wait for the crowd to pass to get out, since they were higher up in a remote box. However, once they got lower the crowd grew denser and denser as everyone wanted to celebrate afterwards and they needed to slightly push their way through the masses.

It was loud in the lobby, and champagne was flowing like water in the after-party, with waiters skillfully maneuvering around the guests with platters of glasses on them. One of them came up to the three of them and, while Elsa and Kristoff refused a drink, Anna took one.

"Anna, at most three," Elsa warned her younger sibling.

"Oh relax, I'm not trying to get drunk," Anna said, sipping her drink. "Just seeing how different it is here. It's an interesting taste."

_Strangely enough, I think about half the people that do end up drunk say those exact words. It's still alcohol._ Elsa let it slide however, trusting her sister to control herself and stay sober enough to function through the rest of the night until they get back to their house. _Besides, it _is_ a party so why not enjoy ourselves? _

_No,_ she suddenly thought. _I don't want to run the risk of that voice coming back. Better to leave earlier than later… after the tour._ The three of them tried to find the manager in the controlled chaos. There were several people that wanted to introduce themselves to her, but mainly because she was of the highest nobility and even now were playing the political game. There were even a few young (and one old) men who were blatantly trying to 'woo' her. In many circumstances it was amusing, but now she found it more annoying and proved that she was the 'Ice Queen' through her piercing glare. Thankfully for them they got the message and steered clear of her.

Eventually she got one of the performers to point her in the direction of where they last saw the manager and she headed that way. She finally saw the man talking to another finely dressed couple and waited patiently for the current conversation to end, knowing that talks in these events don't last long. Sure enough, Monsieur Barrett noticed her and their talk ended shortly thereafter.

"Queen Elsa, once again it's a pleasure to see you, this time under better circumstances," he greeted her.

Elsa amicably returned the smile offered. "I agree. I wanted to congratulate you on the magnificent performance you arranged tonight. I have truly never experienced an event such as this."

Barrett bowed slightly at her complement. "I thank you from the bottom of my heart, Your Majesty, for your kind words. I may have brought the performers together, but most of the credit goes to them."

Elsa nodded at this, as it was true. "I agree, they were al remarkable in their roles, and the musicians were phenomenal, but you were the one to revitalize this opera house from what I understand. You do yourself too little credit Monsieur," Elsa said truthfully, but was trying to butter him up a bit. _At least he's somebody that I could get along with unlike many other dignitaries I've met,_ she thought.

"Ah, well," he actually seemed taken aback by her honesty. "It was my absolute pleasure to arrange everything, despite any problems we had to begin with… If I may," he seemed to work up the courage to ask a question, "how did you come to find out about our re-opening?"

Elsa smiled to herself and said, "That would be my sister, Anna. She heard about this opera house re-opening and got it into her head that was should go and see a gala. And also as a break from my royal duties," she added in a conspiratorial undertone. Barrett nodded slowly with a knowing smile on his face. "I must say that this night has been truly wonderful, and honestly has given me an idea to build an opera house in Arendelle if an opportunity arises."

Barrett looked surprised at this news. "I am humbled that my opera house has inspired you so. I do wish that you make that idea a reality as it would be a marvelous thing to do… but if I may say so I hope you don't take away any of my audience or cast if it gets built."

Elsa laughed lightly. "I wouldn't dream of doing that. I would be doing it more for the enjoyment of others and the love of music and song, something that the world needs more of."

"Indeed, and that should be the only goals of an opera house, to further the appreciation for the fine arts… though a little money doesn't hurt either," he added slyly.

Elsa nodded, making her own smile though she didn't really feel the emotion. "I will confess, there is another motive that I came to you for, aside from congratulating you on the performance."

"And what may that be?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Myself, my sister, and our friend Kristoff would like to wander around the Opera Populaire on our own. We wish to see for ourselves the backstage and other areas of the Opera house, mainly just to explore, but also to get an idea for how Arendelle's own would be laid out if we decided to build one. We will not disrupt anything that might be going on, nor damage or change anything we might encounter if that is a concern."

Monsieur Barrett thought for a moment, as it was a serious question she just asked, but eventually decided, "I see no reason not to deny you, so long as nothing is disrupted- for your safety and others as well."

Elsa gave a small bow in return, "Merci. Thank you very much Monsieur."

He waved it off, "Think nothing of it. I wouldn't dream of denying someone of your status. I only ask that you return for another performance in the future."

Elsa's smile almost became fixed at the mention of her royal status, but accepted it with good grace. "I know that we are very much interested in seeing another, and I think we will be staying in France for a while."

"Then I look forward to your presence gracing this opera house in the future," Barrett nodded, with Elsa nodding back.

"Now then, I'll find my sister and tell her the good news," Elsa said.

"Oh, before you go!" Barrett suddenly said just as she was about to turn away. She looked and saw him pulling out a pen and a paper, scribbling something down on it before he gave it to her. "This is my written permission in case anybody asks you."

Elsa took the paper and saw a basic message allowing the three of them to wander the opera house with his permission. She secured it on her person and said, "Merci Monsieur." After that Elsa went to find her sister in the throng of people. After a moment, she saw the red hair and dress in the crowd, next to the taller and bigger form of Kristoff. Elsa had to suppress a chuckle at the differences between the two as she watched. Anna was very animate as she was babbling almost non-stop, only pausing to take a sip of her drink.

Kristoff on the other hand simply stood there and only offered a few key comments or observations, and although looking like he belonged, Elsa could see the little signs that he was uncomfortable in this environment, being, as crude as the label is, a lowborn ice miner. Though being next to Anna helped majorly as she readily took the attention away from him onto her, sometimes unknowingly with her personality.

"Elsa!" Anna almost shouted as she saw her purple and green clad sister approach. "Did you find him?"

Elsa snorted to herself. Straight to the point, huh? "Yes I did." She had to hide her smile as she saw Anna get increasingly worked up as she kept her silence.

"Well?"

"Well what?" Elsa countered.

"Did you get permission?" Anna was chomping at the bit right then.

"Permission for what?"

"Elsaaaaaa," Anna whined, finally making Elsa's icy complexion crack as she smirked.

"Fine. Yes we can wander around- as long as we don't mess around with anything!" Elsa added firmly as she saw Anna was about to cheer, probably loudly.

"Yes!" Didn't stop the cheer, but the volume was lowered.

"So do you want to go now or…?" Elsa felt like she didn't need to ask as Anna placed her drink on a nearby table, grabbed both her and Kristoff, and started dragging them through the crowd to the entrance for the main stage.

"C'mon c'mon c'mon!" Anna said, threading them through everybody, apparently knowing where to go without knowing. Elsa allowed herself to be dragged in good spirits always enjoying seeing her sister so excited about… anything really. And in this case, it was something that she was really interested in too.

Somehow the three of them found themselves in the empty hallways of the Opera House with only the distant sounds of murmuring behind them. Anna finally let them free from her grasp, but still was in the lead. "Okay, saying it right now, I have no idea where I am right now."

Kristoff sighed. "Why am I not surprised," he muttered aloud. "Anna, there are signs pointing where the stage is," he said, pointing to one such sign just behind Anna's head. It was written in French, but with the amulets, they could read it perfectly.

"… Oh." Elsa laughed again at the blank expression on her face at that realization.

"Come on, let's go," Elsa said, still with a smile on her face as she started walking, with Anna recovering from her little episode and now following with Kristoff. A minute later they were thankful for the signs as the hallways were confusing with doors leading to rooms with two other doors that led to other rooms, and so forth.

"Okay, our opera house will need to cut down on the rooms," Anna muttered.

"I think we're going through the long way," Kristoff said after the third room. "These are all the getting ready and makeup rooms."

"I think you're right," Elsa said, looking around at all the stuff.

"If I didn't want to get back to our apartment sometime this week we could probably spend… a long time," Anna finally said, "just discovering all the places here."

"Maybe in the future, but I'd rather hire an architect that knows what they're doing and looking over the plans themselves before building our own," Elsa muttered. Kristoff opened another door and it proved to be the last one as they found themselves backstage.

"Yes!" Anna gave another cheer and she started rushing through the set pieces to get to the main stage. Elsa and Kristoff shared a look and took off after her, both excited to be there, but containing it better than Anna.

As they rounded a curtain, they found Anna standing in the center of the stage, looking around in amazement at the theatre.

"Wow, that's a big theater," Anna said in awe as she looked out upon the empty seats. Elsa was also amazed as she looked out upon where not too long ago that area was bursting to the brim with people. Now it was completely vacant. If she didn't know any better she could believe that they were the only three people in existence. "How do they do all that in front of that many people?" Her voice echoed slightly in the space.

"Experience and practice I reckon," Kristoff said as he stepped closer to her and hugged Anna because he felt like it. "Plus the lights shining on them probably hides the audience in the shadows."

"This is amazing!" Anna said after a moment as she broke away and spun around on the stage with her hands away from her, absolutely enjoying herself. "It's so magnificent, and awe inspiring! I feel like I could burst into song! Oh look, a piano," Anna suddenly saw.

Elsa looked where Anna was looking. On stage right, somebody had moved a grand piano onto the stage so the player would have their back to the audience. It was a beautiful ebony black piano almost begging to be played, but only by someone worthy of touching it. _That is a magnificent piano_, Elsa thought. As she stared at it though, she felt… something. As if there were a pair of eyes staring into the back of her head.

"Elsa, you should play or sing something!"

_Wait, what?_ "Wait, what?" Her surprise made the strange feeling go away.

Elsa turned to see Anna, and to a lesser extent Kristoff expectantly looking at her. "Elsa?" Anna said, with a giant smirk on her face. Then she tapped something out with her foot. _Tap tap ta-tap tap_. Elsa's eyes widened at the familiar rhythm. Then Anna started to sing.

~"Do you wanna' sing an opera,  
Or maybe dance in the ballet?  
I never hear you anymore  
Let's rock this floor  
C'mon let's go and play!

You used to sing all the time  
And now you don't  
I think you should tell me whyyyyyy.

Do you wanna' sing an opera?  
It doesn't have to be an opera…"~

Elsa was stunned. _Is… is she really asking me to sing right now?_ "Anna?"

Before she could ask anything else, Anna's expression dropped slightly as she became serious. "That's… also another reason why I wanted you to come on this trip. You've been so bogged down back home doing your duties that you don't sing anymore. To be honest, I've missed your singing. Like your powers it's a part of you, and when you don't sing, you loose a part of you too. I'm your sister, and I want to look out for you too. Maybe here you can find the motivation to sing again."

Elsa stared at Anna for a minute, then permitted herself to cry a little bit and she enveloped her sister in a big hug. _What did I do to deserve a sister like this? She did all of this for me? I- I… I'm so, so touched by what she did. What she's done… She is right. I've been too consumed in my work and experimenting with my powers to think about singing. That spark… was just never there._

Slowly, missing the warmth of her sister as she did so, she pulled away and wiped at her moist eyes. "T-thank you Anna. I…" She couldn't form the words and just pulled her sister into another hug. No words were needed.

After a while, Elsa calmed down and released Anna, just the two smiling at each other. Elsa took a deep breath. I_… I think I can sing now._ "I think I can sing right now."

"Yay!" Anna exclaimed pumping her fist in success. "My plan worked!" Once again, her exuberance caused Elsa to giggle. Seeing that there wasn't anything stopping her, Elsa moved to the piano, skimming her hand across the sleek, polished wood. _There's… something about being in an opera house… it being completely silent except for you. The smell, something in the very air itself wants you to submerge yourself in music. Anna's right, _she admitted, _I could burst out into song right now._ Taking a moment, she folded her dress under her and sat down on the seat that was there.

Then she blanked. _What should I play? I have no clue. How about a warm up scale?_ Flexing her fingers she rested them on the keys and, almost timidly, pressed a key. A perfect middle 'C' rung out in the empty hall. Growing in confidence, she proceeded to do a scale, then two, then three, remembering more and more as she dusted off her muscle and mental memory.

Finally she stopped, and there was light clapping coming from Anna and Kristoff. Elsa smiled meekly. "It was just a few scales," she said embarrassed.

"Well it sounded good anyway," Kristoff said. "Now are you going to do a piece you know?"

"I… don't know what to play," Elsa admitted.

"Ooh! Why don't you play that one song that you made? The one you said you sang when you made your palace, and then put down in writing about two years ago? I don't even remember it it's been so long."

Elsa stared at the keys for a moment, trying to remember the song in question. _She's right, it's been far too long. _She started warming up her voice, making different sounds, loosening her throat. Once she was done with that, she said, "Alright, here it goes." Elsa put her hands to the keys and, after a few false starts as she tried to remember how it started, she finally really started playing.

And with the first few bars of her playing, everything came back to her.

~"The snow glows white on the mountain tonight  
Not a footprint to be seen.  
A kingdom of isolation,  
and it looks like I'm the Queen."~

In that moment, Elsa was transported to that night of her coronation, stepping through the snow on the North Mountain. The feelings of fear, loneliness, failure, she all remembered.

~"The wind is howling like this swirling storm inside  
Couldn't keep it in;  
Heaven knows I've tried.  
Don't let them in,  
don't let them see  
Be the good girl you always have to be  
Conceal, don't feel  
don't let them know…"~

She could still hear her father's voice, making her remember, memorize that mantra. Still remember how it almost destroyed her soul. But with that night, there was release. A feeling of newfound freedom open to her now.

~"Well now they know…

Let it go, let it go  
Can't hold it back anymore  
Let it go, let it go  
Turn away and slam the door  
I don't care  
what they're going to say.  
Let the storm rage on;  
The cold never bothered me anyway."~

Elsa's lips curled upwards in a smile as her fingers played over the notes, the melody turning more playful, more fun, mimicking how she felt at truly being herself for the first time in thirteen years. The almost _smug_ feeling of bucking what people expected, what her father wanted. It was well and truly gone at that point.

~"It's funny how some distance  
Makes everything seem small  
And the fears that once controlled me  
Can't get to me at all.

It's time to see what I can do  
To test the limits and break through  
No right, no wrong, no rules for me,  
I'm free!

Let it go, let it go  
I am one with the wind and sky  
Let it go, let it go  
You'll never see me cry!  
Here I stand  
And here I'll stay!  
Let the storm rage on."~

Elsa started really playing the piano. This part was in tribute to when she made her ice palace in mere minutes, the sheer excitement of _finally_ letting lose and testing what she could do. She wanted that to be conveyed in the music as her fingers flew across the keys. She was faintly amused at how she was putting so much of herself into playing right then, remembering a part of her that had been forgotten for a while, that her magic was responding to her emotions and playing, creating faint, little blue magical sparks that flittered upwards for a few inches then vanished, fluttering out.

She would have been a little more concern because this was a lead-up to how she froze pianos when she was given lessons years ago. She would have if she was completely there. But she wasn't. The music had claimed her and her soul was now intertwining both with the song and her memories, all melding into one.

~"My power flurries through the air into the ground  
My soul is spiraling in frozen fractals all around  
And one thought crystallizes like an icy blast  
I'm never going back, the past is in the past!"~

She remembered the absolute loathing that she felt staring at her crown. What it symbolized, what it meant to have. Her raw determination to never return. Though in the end she did, the remnants of that desire still affected her to this day.

~"Let it go, let it go  
And I'll rise like the break of dawn  
Let it go, let it go  
That perfect girl is gone!  
Here I stand  
In the light of day  
Let the storm rage on!  
The cold never bothered me anyway!"~

The last note faded away, the last echo of her voice disappearing into the air. She just had her hands on the keys, in the last position they needed to be, keeping absolutely still. She was breathing just a little heavier than normal, but the exuberation and exhilaration she felt more than made up for any discomfort she had. The moment, the absolute stillness hung over her, expectant.

Then there was the sound of clapping.

She blinked. Elsa came back.

It took her a couple more seconds of disorientation from the sudden absence of her emotions before she realized that she had stopped playing. She was almost stunned by what happened, like she was almost back there that night, feeling the same things. Elsa had gone back there, leaving the Opera Populaire behind. There was only one thing that she could think right then.

_That was… That was different…_

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

* * *

The Phantom had recovered from his shock in Box 5 after the Queen did some parlor trick that fooled even him. _I would applaud you for being able to surprise me Madame, but I don't appreciate that you played such a trick on me. And it irks me that I cannot fathom how you accomplished your feat. Some powder with slight mirage qualities to fool the eye? Or is it some other method you used, yet undiscovered save for you. If I were a lesser, more superstitious man, I would believe that it was caused by magic. But there is no such thing, just illusions and trickery. _

Some part of him however thought it strange that a royal Queen would have such need of those tricks, and that underlying confusion and uncertainty was what was driving him to examine her from afar.

He saw the end of the performance, an average production in his eyes but a good start for the renewal of his opera house. He understood why Monsieur Barrett went with this opera as it was safe enough to lure in an audience, nothing too controversial but enough to get notice and have people come back for more.

That isn't to say there weren't flaws however, but they were manageable and would be corrected once he got in touch with the new manager, who was a vast improvement over the last two buffoons.

But there were more pressing concerns, such as finding the Queen.

He had moved away from his box after their little tete-à-tete to another vantage point where he could still watch the opera, but after he recovered was angry at the Queen and wanted to teach her a lesson, both for fooling him and for taking his box. But after it ended, he lost sight of the trio in the crowd. It was a few minutes later that he spotted them again, with the redheaded one leading the other two away from the crowd by the hands, almost dragging them. It was slightly amusing to watch.

However, he lost them as soon as they left the main gathering. He growled to himself as he searched. _How can I loose them in my own opera house? Even with the renovations I have the layout memorized and can find anything. So how did they slip past me? _Finally hearing faint voices, he realized that they had made their way onto the stage. Making a decision, he headed towards his box to overlook everything that they were doing.

He got there in good time and hid himself in the shadows of his box. The Queen and… her sister and the man were looking at the grand piano that was onstage, admiring it. Then the sister said, "Elsa, you should play or sing something!"

Despite himself, the Phantom raised an eyebrow at that, just as the Queen herself said, "Wait, what?" He could hear her surprise in her voice at her sister's request.

_Indeed. I find myself wondering if she could even sing or play aside from a passing fancy,_ he thought. The Queen turned around to face her sister and she said her name. Then the sister made a rhythmic _tap tap ta-tap tap_ with her foot on the floor. He could see the Queen's eyes widen as she did so, but then his own eyes widened slightly as the sister started to _sing_.

~"Do you wanna' sing an opera,  
Or maybe dance in the ballet?  
I never hear you anymore  
Let's rock this floor  
C'mon let's go and play!

You used to sing all the time  
And now you don't  
I think you should tell me whyyyyyy.

Do you wanna' sing an opera?  
It doesn't have to be an opera…"~

The Phantom was slightly incredulous at the princess singing of all things, but automatically started thinking of critiques of just this little song. _She has a decent voice, if not trained by professionals. The melody itself was simple, almost childish, but was constructed well enough. _All of this was thought dispassionately, barely a footnote.

He heard the Queen say her sister's name, Anna, but her sister started talking again. "That's… also another reason why I wanted you to come on this trip. You've been so bogged down back home doing your duties that you don't sing anymore. To be honest, I've missed your singing. Like your powers it's a part of you, and when you don't sing, you loose a part of you too. I'm your sister, and I want to look out for you too. Maybe here you can find the motivation to sing again."

His interest doubled from that. _So she's sung before? Interesting. However, what are these 'powers' she speaks of?_ He decided not to think deeply about this, as he realized without knowing he would be digging himself into a rut. He merely stared as the sisters had an emotional moment between the two, before the Queen pulled away. "I think I can sing right now," she said.

"Yay!" Her sister exclaimed pumping her fist in success. "My plan worked!" Despite himself, the Phantom snorted softly at her exuberance. Reminds me a bit of Mademoiselle Giry from years ago. He watched as the Queen moved to the piano, her hand skimming over the surface of the wood. She paused, and the Phantom narrowed his eyes slightly at this.

He recognized that pause. It was common for many performers and singers where they suddenly, almost unwillingly, immerse themselves in the environment of the opera house. He himself had done this many times and now he was seeing it mirrored in this Queen. Despite himself, his attention was caught by this blond, blue-eyed Queen.

Taking a moment, the Queen folded her dress under her and sat down on the seat that was there in front of the piano. She sat there for a moment before she put her hands to the keys and played a single note, testing the piano. Then, seemingly satisfied with how it sounded, _as she should be for I wouldn't stand for an instrument being out of tune, _she started playing several scales. She started a little rough, but as her fingers loosened she got better. Nothing approaching mastery, but fair enough.

Finally she stopped, and there was light clapping coming from the other two. The Queen smiled. "It was just a few scales," she said, and from her tone he could hear that she was embarrassed for some reason.

"Well it sounded good anyway," the man said. _Agreed_, the Phantom thought, _though a little rough but if she hasn't played in years then that's good for her._ "Now are you going to do a piece you know?"

"I… don't know what to play," the Queen admitted.

"Ooh! Why don't you play that one song that you made? The one you said you sang when you made your palace, and then put down in writing about two years ago? I don't even remember it it's been so long." _She wrote a song herself? I guess that even royalty can do some things themselves. And the princess must have misspoke about her sister _making_ a palace,_ he dismissed that part.

The Queen stared at the keys for a moment and then she started warming up her voice, making different sounds, loosening her throat. From the few sounds that she made, the Phantom wasn't impressed, preparing himself for another Carlotta at worst, though he admitted she probably wouldn't sound like one. Once she was done with that, she said, "Alright, here it goes." She put her hands to the keys and, played a few notes, but then stopped and started over again. And again. And again. Each time was a little better than the first and it sounded like it would be a beautiful piano piece if she ever got it.

There was a slight pause, and it seemed like the entire opera house was waiting in anticipation. Even himself, reluctantly.

Then the Queen really started playing, and within the first few bars, the Phantom was unwillingly drug into the music. And then she started to sing.

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. The voice that she had, while not proper in an opera, was enchanting and captivating. The words that she sung were mourning, sorrowful, near desperate. And how she sung… He had very rarely seen someone who could sing straight from the soul. _She_ could do it, and there was one other that the Opera Populaire had many many years ago before he left.

But this Queen… her song was straight from the soul. And in that moment, he was ensnared by her. By her sheer emotion that she was putting into her song. His body betrayed him as a shiver went up his spine.

Then the song changed. Different feelings started erupting. Of release from a prison, hopefulness, and 'letting go'. Of reflection, defiance, discarding what others thought about you. Testing the boundaries of possibilities, of limits. The Phantom was stunned. _How… how could she know of these emotions? She's a Queen, born and raised with a silver spoon, pampered. Why would she know these feelings?_ He thought that he should, normally _would_ be angry, as it was a mockery of his own trials and life, but he couldn't. The words were too true to argue, the emotions were as real as they could be.

He almost missed something when she started a solo piano part. But it was impossible not to when he was paying close attention. There were little blue lights coming from her hands that faded like sparks of a fire, but were cooler, calmer. _Another one of her tricks? How? And why now? _But once again, he was drawn into the music and put that aside. The Phantom really looked at her and could tell the Queen was gone. Physically, yes, she was still there. But he could tell that her mind was elsewhere, probably where and when she created this song.

Then the song ended. The climax and final note rung out, her voice dissipating into the air. The absence of song was jarring for him, making him yearn for more, to hear more from this Queen. Against his will, part of him was captured by the beauty of her music… something that hadn't happened since _Her_. It seemed that the theatre froze, not wanting the music to inevitably slip away, the moment to break.

Then the princess and her escort started clapping and the bubble burst.

In near mirror actions, both the Queen and the Phantom came back to the present, disoriented after the music stopped. Faintly he saw that she was almost swaying in her seat after playing. _What… what was that? The last time was… can't think, don't feel. _But even him telling himself that reminded him of the song that he just heard, 'conceal, don't feel'. He muttered to himself, "Brava, your Majesty."

So he fell back to critiquing to hide what he was feeling, how badly that song… she, had affected him. _The words were sung from the heart, but there was a hidden meaning to them, something that I can't comprehend until I know her past, but I can make educated guesses. She's gone through all those emotions in the song, how or why I do not know but they were real. Her voice is not suited for opera at this moment, but that is a minor thing for she has a power in her voice. She sounds like she has been trained vocally and it shows, for even though she's not opera worthy, there are many other forms of music that she would excel at. The song itself… matched perfectly with her. Few have a song so perfectly matched to who they are, but to have one right now… If I could, I would write another for her to sing, and with further training she could-_

He shook himself, breaking that line of thought before it went too deeply down a path that he didn't want to take, rejecting the emotions and wants that were now brewing inside him. _No. Never again._ He narrowed his eyes at the Queen who had stood up from the piano and was conversing with the other two.

_Just who are you Queen Elsa of Arendelle? _

He slunk further into the shadows of the box and exited, taking one of his secret passages away back to his home under the opera house. However, as he traversed the paths to his lair, unbidden he started humming the song, then softly singing, ~"Let it go, let it go…"~

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

* * *

Elsa looked upwards into the darkness of the boxes, feeling that something- or someone- was watching, but after a moment the feeling disappeared and she relaxed again. After she had finished and the euphoria of playing lessened, she could feel that stare again, but only for a brief moment before it went away.

It was helped by Anna gushing over her. "Oh my god Elsa! That was incredible! I don't think I've ever heard you sing that well before- no, that powerfully before! That was simply amazing!" She was basically bouncing up and down from excitement.

"That was great!" Kristoff added. "I think that was the best thing I've ever heard! That beat the opera we just saw."

Elsa ducked her head, a blush visible. "Thank you, but it wasn't that good."

"False modesty does not suit you Elsa," Kristoff pointed out.

Elsa sighed and shrugged slightly, embarrassed. "I was… really into it then," she admitted. "There is something about being here that gave me the motivation to sing and play. It felt… _good_." And it did, as if she reconnected with something she didn't even know she was missing until then.

"Are you going to play something else?" Anna asked. Elsa shook her head.

"No, I think that was enough. I don't think I can top that," she said.

Anna opened her mouth to protest, but then thought better and nodded, "Yeahhh, probably. Not that to say that anything else you play won't be good, but it just won't be _as_ good. You get me? You get me don't you Kristoff." She said that as a fact.

"Ah, yep," Kristoff nodded, looking confused at first, but he did truthfully.

"See?"

Elsa laughed. "I understand Anna." There was a pause, then she asked, "So you want to keep looking around some more?"

Anna thought about it for a moment, then looked over at Kristoff, silently asking him if he wanted to as well. He shrugged and nodded to her, differing his answer to her. "You know, I think I'm fine with heading back. I think I've seen all that I wanted to see."

"Oh. Okay," Elsa said, surprisingly disheartened at leaving.

"What? Why? Did you want to stay some more, because I'm completely fine with that too," Anna hurriedly said.

"No, that's fine, we can go," Elsa said. _Though I still want to look around some more, but I suppose there's next time… if I can get Monsieur Barrett to agree to it again. _

"Actually, how about this," Kristoff interjected. "Anna and I could head back to our flat right now, and you can continue to look around until you feel like coming back. The carriages should be available for a few hours yet, so you can go whenever. Plus I think you can take care of yourself, especially with your powers."

_True_, she thought to herself. "I think that'll work."

"Great!" Anna said. "I think us two could enjoy the party a little bit more before we go then," she looked at Kristoff again.

He nodded, "Sounds like a plan. Are you joining us?" He asked Elsa.

She shook her head in a negative after a moment of consideration. "I'll be fine wandering some more. You know how I am with crowds." _A few short years won't erase thirteen years of… conditioning. I'm still uncomfortable with large groups, much to my ire. _

"Okay then… I guess we'll see you later then?" Anna said, unsure how to end this conversation.

"You will. Kristoff, make sure she doesn't drink too much," she said with a smile, ignoring the indignant _'hey!'_ from the girl in question.

Kristoff answered solemnly, "I will do my best, though I fear my mission will be difficult. Ow." He said when Anna slapped him, though it really didn't hurt him.

Anna kept up the hurt face for another few moments before sliding into a grin. "Well I'll have you to keep all the men away if I do succumb to the clutches of Champagne."

Kristoff then grabbed Anna in a hug. "Yes you do." Surprising her, he bent down and picked her up bridal style, earning a squeal from her. "See you later then Elsa," he said as he started carrying Anna away despite her feeble protests.

Elsa had a fond smile on her face as she watched the two go offstage the way they came. _I hope Kristoff asks Anna soon to marry him. They're perfect for each other._ She decided to walk in the opposite direction of them offstage too, deciding to find a few more areas of the opera house before calling it a night.

Walking through the opera house, she found many rooms dedicated to costumes and props, like she expected- just not the sheer amount. Quite a few however seemed to have been partially burned at some point. Didn't they say that this place suffered a fire at some point, caused by that man… the Phantom? She frowned. I don't remember if they said he was dead or not. Is he still around, because that could explain quite a few things that have happened this night.

Lost in her thoughts, she continued walking through the hallways, not paying attention to where she was going. It was only when she noticed that the lights had dimmed did she look up. Where am I? It looked like this area hadn't been used, or repaired as there were crinkled and browned wallpaper on the sides. There was a fine layer of dust where she was walking. I probably shouldn't be here.

She was about to leave before a plaque on one of the fanciest doors caught her attention. Curious for some reason, she stepped closer and used her handkerchief to clear the dust off the tarnished metal.

_Prima Donna Suite:  
__Christine Daaé_

Elsa blinked. _She was the woman in the story, the one the Phantom was fixated on, the singer._ Curiosity started overcoming her common sense and she found her hand opening the door to the suite. It opened with a slight squeak of the hinges, and she stepped through, almost as if she were sneaking into a place that she shouldn't be in.

It was dark inside, and she couldn't see anything. Deciding to take a small risk, she held out her hand, pushing just a small amount of her powers through it, and a glowing blue orb formed just slightly above it, illuminating the room with a ghastly blue light. But it worked and she could see everything now. It was finely decorated and furnished, and it seemed that the fire hadn't reached the inside of this room. But there was dust everywhere, save for the carpeted floor where she couldn't see. It was as if nobody had dared to come in and clean, for something unknown kept them out, the fear of a ghost.

Elsa stepped further inside slowly, looking around. _What was going through your head I wonder, _Elsa thought, asking the young woman that once was here. _How were you feeling when the Phantom was teaching you. Did you enjoy it? Did you know what he could do? Did you know how he felt?_ She stopped when she saw a dresser next to the wall. On top of it was a dead flower, a rose if she wasn't mistaken, with a black ribbon around the stem.

_I think you did… And could only do what you thought was best. _

The room now felt like a crypt, a mausoleum of a lost love, kept preserved so someone could gaze upon the wasted years.

Elsa looked at something again. Something that seemed out of place. She walked closer to the thing, a mirror. But it took her several moments before she identified what drew her attention.

This mirror wasn't tarnished, wasn't dusty at all. It was in perfect condition aside from slight decay around the edges of the mirror itself, signifying that it was old, but still maintained. _Why this? Why is this looking so well when the rest of the room isn't?_

Something was nagging her, and she remembered one of the last things Grand Pabbie said to her. _"One last thing: you might want to check the top left corners of mirrors if you feel something odd about them."_

"Top left of mirrors, huh?…" Her wandering hands reached upwards and gently touched that area of the mirror, scanning the surface. She paused, then moved her hand back. There was a small indent, not visible, but she could feel it. Pushing into that spot, she was rewarded with a soft click, and then the mirror slid open to her right, a small gap to a passage behind it now visible.

_A secret passage?_ She slid the mirror open all the way, allowing for a person to go through into the tunnel. _Did the Phantom design this? So he could get into the Prima Donna's room?_ She peered into the blackness of the tunnel, and could feel a cool breeze start to waft through.

But the cold never bothered her.

Unknown to her, her blue eyes were starting to glitter with excitement, a kind she hadn't felt in a long time and only intermittently. A feeling when she was younger and exploring the castle with Anna. A sense of adventure gripped her and a smile formed on her face. Under her breath she sung to herself, different words but the same tune for what she was doing.

~"It's time to see what lies inside,  
to find the secrets that it hides  
No right, no wrong, I want to know  
So here I go…"~

She stepped through the mirror.

* * *

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

* * *

**And I think I'll leave this as a cliffhanger. I'm evil so (don't) sue me. I hope this won't take another half a year + to update again, especially since the next chapter is the one you've been waiting for!**

**To be honest, I didn't know how long this would be, and was worried that it would be about 3-4 thousand words, a short chapter by my standards. Welp. I doubled that. Shows that I don't need to worry about content depravation so I'll just keep doing what I do. **

**Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed, and don't forget to Read, Review, Favorite, and Follow. **

**Okay, I'm going to sleep and my fingers hurt from typing so much. **

_**I remain your humble writer**_

_**-OG**_


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